Badass Boyfriend
by Mew Draiku
Summary: RxB Ryou's POV Ryou, the quietest kid in school, has a crush on Bakura, the most popular, gothic, badass kid at school. Slight smut scene in a later chapter.
1. Slogans

Mew: This was probably inspired by the picture to a quiz I took. Basically, it was about whether you were a seme or an uke, and which kind. I took it twice, and got Sadistic Seme on one, and Badass Uke on another. Malik came to my mind with the Badass Uke one, for some reason, and I wrote this. HOW LAME IS THAT?

Draiku: Lamer than you, perhaps?

Mew: How rude. Anyway, this one may be pretty short, unless I'm compelled to write more based on feedback, and the number of reviews I get. –evil grin-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. She's also sick of writing these disclaimers.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 1: Slogans

If Malik had his own slogan, it would be, "Don't screw with me, you mother fucker." He was the kind of guy to dye his hair in outrageous colors, though he rarely did so, and wear loose, black, chained pants, which he did a lot. He had many piercings on both ears, as well as other body parts, including two that went on his nipples. He tended to wear collars and arm bands with spikes, as well as shoes he liked to call "bondage boots." He also had the knack to carry a stash of cherry-flavored lollipops wherever he went, and eat them all the time. The way he ate them was odd, too. He wouldn't bite or even nibble them; he'd slowly lick them until they were gone. This made the small, bright red candy last for hours at a time. Odd, much? Yes, that's what I thought when I first met him.

If I had a slogan, it would probably be something like this situation:

Me: Um, er, hi.

Someone else: Hi, Ryou!

Me: -faints-

You can probably safely say that Malik and I are exact opposites. How we became friends, I have no clue. He's popular, I'm not. He's "badass," and I definitely am not, and will probably not ever be considered "badass." I tended to wear soft colored clothing—light blue, white, and regular jeans—while he dressed like he was going Trick or Treating. He's the type to get everything at Hot Topic, while I'm the type to shop at Wal-Mart.

Today he and I were walking through the mall. Of course, he dragged me everywhere. Upon entering Hot Topic, I was greeted with stifled snickers from the employees and resident goths.

"Ah, here it is," Malik said, lifting a collar decorated with silver skull studs up with one hand while holding his cherry Dumdum in the other and licking it. "Finally. You know, I saw these on the website—so why didn't they have them here? I swear, Ryou, the system is corrupt. Anyway. How much is it?" He searched for a price tag.

"Probably over ten dollars—well over ten dollars," I said, glancing at a poster of Marilyn Manson and shivering.

"Damn," Malik muttered. "Oh well. It's hot and sexy. I'm getting it." There's another difference between us—he tends to buy things impulsively, while I sit at home and plan what I'm going to buy, about how much it will cost, and figure out exactly how much I need before I shop.

"You'll look good in it," I commented, not knowing what else to say. The truth was, I hated collars. Why anyone wore them was an entire universe beyond me.

"Yeah—and Marik might like it too," he added with a sly smirk. I blushed a bit, knowing exactly who Marik was. This Marik, Malik was speaking of, was his boyfriend. Yes, you heard me correctly. His _boy_friend.

Yet another difference between us. He has a boyfriend. I'm still single. I wish I had a boyfriend at times, but I'm too shy. I'm also still virgin, and he's not. Most definitely not. Heck, he skips school for entire weeks just to hang out with Marik—that's what he says, at least. Yeah, right. "Just to hang out" my ass. Thankfully, for him, he's an excellent liar and can convince the teachers that his mother was seriously ill and his father was out-of-state and his sister was in college and his brother was getting married. All lies. Malik doesn't even have parents. However, when he came to the school, he put down that he did have parents, just so the teachers wouldn't sympathize or something. From my experience, he hates that.

So, Malik bought the collar and immediately put it on. He tried to get me to get something, but I politely refused.

"Come on, Ryou," he said with a smirk. "You'll look so damn _sexy_ in one of these." He held up a buckle collar with spikes. I decided then that Malik's favorite word was "sexy."

"No, Malik, really. My dad would get angry," I said, not able to picture myself wearing one of those.

"You're dad's in Egypt! How's he going to know, anyway? When he comes back, you can just hide it in your desk or something—he'll never know. Besides, I happen to know that Bakura has a fetish for collars." He winked at me and grinned almost a bit too widely for my comfort. I turned beet red and wrung my hands. Bakura was the boy I had a crush on. He was like Malik, but he didn't have as many piercings, and he didn't dye his hair or wear as much jewelry.

"He'd just laugh if I came to school in one of those. Everyone would laugh," I mumbled shyly. He just rolled his eyes, shaking his head and smiling.

"Your loss," he said. "Let's go to the food court. I'm starving." I nodded and followed him, as usual.

While we were walking, we came upon Marik, who waved enthusiastically. Malik grinned and grabbed my arm, then ran over to him. I stumbled along behind, trying as hard as I could not to lose my balance.

"Marik! I knew that you'd be here!" Malik said. Marik just grinned back.

"You know that I love this place—I'm a mall rat," Marik replied. "I see that you've brought Ryou along, too. Ooh, nice collar. It looks excellent on you." He put on a lusty face and I could practically picture exactly what they were going to do later, after they'd somehow managed to dump me off somewhere. "Anyway! How about we grab some grub? I'm so hungry I could eat a freakin' cow." Marik enjoyed using idioms, and tended to confuse people a lot. Especially the two foreign-exchange students we had—Anzu and Honda. Even I chuckled a bit at their startled expressions when Marik said stuff like, "Look outside! It's raining cats and dogs out there!"

So we headed to the food court and ordered our usual stuff. I got Subway, Marik got Chinese, and Malik got Italian. We sat at one of the many booths and ate our food. I watched, fascinated as Marik perfectly maneuvered the chopsticks with such incredible speed and accuracy. Needless to say, I was a bit jealous.

"I saw Bakura here just a few minutes ago," Marik said, taking a bite out of his something-or-other. "He said he was heading to the food court after he grabbed his mom's birthday gift, so we might see him." I blushed, my once somewhat-pale complexion changing to the red of the sauce on Malik's spaghetti.

"You know," Malik said, looking to me, "I bet that if you blushed like that in front of Bakura, he'd think you're just the sexiest damn thing ever to walk on this earth. Especially if you wore this collar. He has a fetish for collars, you know." I blushed even more.

"Malik!" I whined. He just laughed.

"Just try it, once. We can see what happens, alright?" he said with a grin. After much nagging and pushing, I reluctantly agreed. There I sat, now sporting a black leather collar with silver skulls around the edge. And I looked absolutely absurd. A few people stared, since my current outfit did _not_ match the collar's theme, and I wanted to crawl into a small hole and die there.

"There we go," Marik said. "Now that, my friend, is hot enough to fry an egg on."

"Um, thanks," I said softly.

Thirty minutes passed by all too slowly. Then an hour passed, and the mall began to close. I came very close to crying after making myself look like an idiot there.

"Well, what a waste," Malik drawled lazily. "You can just wear it on Monday instead—then we can see what happens."

"No!" I whined as we climbed into Malik's car. "I'm never doing that again! I looked like an idiot with these clothes on!"

"Maybe you just need a makeover," Marik suggested, taking the passenger's seat. I shook my head.

"I can't afford any of the clothing there! The jeans are sixty dollars—on clearance!" I objected.

"Then get a job."

"I _have_ a job!"

"Then get a better job." I groaned and slumped.

"Marik, it just doesn't…suit me, this gothic thing. I'd look like a fool! I'm just the normal kid who happens to have long white hair even though he's not albino. I'm not going to become 'the kid with long white hair who wears black.' Besides, they'd think I was copying Bakura! And he'd get angry! You know that he hates copycats," I said.

"Then dress in a Lolita dress and he'll fuck with you the first chance he gets," Marik said. I blushed heavily.

"He's most likely straight, Marik," I explained. "And I'm _not_ going to wear a dress! I mean, I am gay, but I don't do cross-dressing!"

"Fine, your loss," Marik said. I groaned again. "Maybe instead you could just write an anonymous note expressing your feelings for him, and maybe he'll like you back. That's what I did with Malik."

"No you didn't. You shoved me against the lockers when I was sent to the office and you were headed to the bathroom, and you forcefully made out with me," Malik said, looking to Marik.

"Hush, Malik. Ryou doesn't know that," Marik said. Like hell I didn't. The entire school knew, considering that they were still kissing right after class got out and everyone was headed to lunch.

"Now he does," Malik pointed out.

"Whatever. The point is, Ryou, that you shouldn't keep hiding. Make friends with him, and when you're comfortable, go ahead and take a stab in the dark. See what happens," Marik said, looking at me.

"What if he rejects me?" I asked.

"Then you can move on to find someone better," Marik replied simply. I shifted in my seat and bit my lower lip. "Man," Marik said with a grin, "that little habit of yours is just cute." I blushed again, not quite knowing what to say.

"Um, thanks, I think," I said softly. Marik just chuckled as Malik pulled over into his driveway.

"Here we are," Malik said. He smiled at Marik and they pulled into a quick, tender kiss. "See you at school tomorrow," Malik murmured with a smirk.

"You too," Marik replied. "Love you, Malik." He stepped out of the car and hurried to his front door just as Malik drove away. I watched as his mother greeted him, and let him in. I was a bit jealous of Marik at times like this; His parents knew about Malik, and they accepted it. My father, however, is a total homophobe. If he somehow figured out that I have a crush on Bakura, he'd, at best, kick me out with nothing but a single suitcase.

"What's up?" Malik asked, peering into the rearview mirror at me.

"Nothing," I murmured. He frowned at me, obviously concerned.

"Listen, Ryou. You're practically my best friend ever. I care about you, and I'd like to help out, but if you really insist that it's nothing, then I won't push it," he said sternly. I gazed up at him and smiled gratefully. "There we go. Feeling a bit better? Or do you still want to talk?" he asked with a grin.

"I think I'll be alright, really," I told him. He smiled and nodded.

"Good." We soon pulled into my driveway and I hurried out.

"Thanks for the ride, Malik," I said, waving goodbye as he backed out. He waved back, and drove away. I sighed with a smile, took a deep breath of the cool summer night air, and went inside my home. I was instantly greeted by my small, white kitten, Angel Pie.

Yes, Angel Pie.

If I were straight, I'd feel sorry for my future kids.

"Angel Pie! There you are!" I said, and she mewed back, jumping into my arms. Angel nuzzled my face and purred, curling up in my arms. She was all I had right now, besides Malik. Dad was working on some archaeological dig, and I had no mother. She'd died years ago, during childbirth. At times I wish that I could see her in real life—not just in pictures on the fireplace mantel.

I walked into my room and sat down on my bed, grabbing my journal. What can I say? I like writing, and recording my life in a journal helps me fell better about my chances with Bakura. I picked up a pen and scribbled down some symbols—my own, private language. Sometimes my dad looked through my journal, and I didn't want him to discover my crush on Bakura. Sure, he called me crazy, but it's better than being kicked out. The only thing I wrote down in regular letters was the date. Nothing more, nothing less.

Angel curled up next to me and closed her eyes sleepily. I smiled at her and stroked her gently, then began to write.

-

At school the next morning, I bumped into Marik and Malik. The day was probably destined to be horrible from that moment on.

"Good morning, Ryou!" Marik and Malik greeted me, grinning widely. Judging from their good moods, it was evident that they'd made out, or more, on their ways to school. Otherwise, they weren't morning people at all. If you could compare them to something common, they were like your parents and their coffee.

"Good morning," I said with a yawn.

"You should drink more coffee. So, what's up?" Marik asked as we walked to our lockers. Incidentally, Malik's was right next to mine, and Marik's was next to his.

"Nothing much," I replied and opened my locker. "My alarm went off late, so I didn't get to eat breakfast, and I didn't get to drink my coffee." I yawned again.

"Oh look, there's Bakura," Malik said, looking over his shoulder. I was instantly awake.

"Where??!" I demanded, looking around. Malik smirked and I finally got it, and glared at him.

"What? It woke you up, didn't it?" he said. I sighed, knowing that he was right. Bakura made me feel like I always needed to look my best if he was coming.

"Anyway, we have a little surprise for you today," Marik said with a somewhat evil grin. My eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" I asked warily. He looked to Malik and smirked. I looked to Malik, just in time to see him mouth the word "three."

Marik and Malik instantly grabbed me and ran into the bathroom with me. I tried to cry out, but Marik had cupped his hand over my mouth so I couldn't make a noise. In his hand he had a bag that I didn't recognize, and they shoved me into the handicapped bathroom stall. Marik had gagged me, and they began undressing me. I frantically made pathetic-sounding noises, but Malik shut me up by slapping my face lightly.

"We aren't raping you," he said bluntly. "Just shut up for now." They finally stripped me down to nothing by my boxers, and redressed me in highly-gothic clothing. Including the collar Malik had bought yesterday, I might add.

Then they stuffed my normal clothing into the bag and Marik kept a firm grip on it.

"Come on, guys! This isn't funny! People will think that I had…a lobotomy, or something!" I whined. Malik just snickered.

"I doubt it. Just try it for a day," he said. I groaned and was forced out into the school.

Throughout the rest of the day, people asked me if I was going goth. I didn't know how to reply to that, so I just shrugged and said, "Maybe."

Then lunch came.

At first, I sat alone at the end of a table and gazed at Bakura, who was sitting with the rest of his gothic friends, Marik and Malik included.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happened.

Bakura waved at me.

"You're Ryou, right? Come sit over here!" he called in that wonderful voice of his.

Needless to say, I was quite surprised. I was still for a moment, and finally brought my lunch over to the table and took a seat. Right. Next. To. Bakura's.

I thought I'd die.

"Um, er, hi," I said shyly.

"Hi, Ryou!" the rest said, grinning.

Remember when I described my "slogan" as being a scenario in which I faint at the end?

Well, guess what?

I fainted.

TBC

Mew: Well, tell me what you thought, and we'll see how long this could probably be.

Draiku: You sound as if you're bribing them.

Mew: Who…me?

Yoko: Please remember to R&R, people! Thanks for reading!


	2. How To Use a School Bathroom

Mew: Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the previous chapter. –grin- I actually finished this next chapter pretty quickly. So here it is!

Draiku: And if you didn't review, then you can stop reading right now. –innocent smile- -whips rifle out-

Mew: -sweatdrop-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh because she's just a dumb teenager who has no job.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 2: How To Use a School Bathroom

I awoke in the nurse's office, dazed and dizzy. Marik and Malik were there, as well as someone I didn't expect to see at all.

"Bakura?" I mumbled aloud, and they all turned to me.

"I didn't know that you were _that_ shy, Ryou," Bakura said, staring at me.

"Um…yeah, I don't get out much," I replied uneasily.

"If I'd known, I would've just gone over to you and told you about the others instead. I figured that since you knew Marik and Malik, it'd be okay," he said.

"No, it's alright," I said quickly, though inside I cursed. Sitting alone with Bakura was probably my dream, among other, more explicit things, of course.

"Gods, that was freakin' hilarious, Ryou! I never thought that you'd _faint_ of all things!" Marik said with a laugh.

"It was pretty funny, y' know. I never knew that you'd do that, Ryou," Malik said and winked at me. I blushed again. "Anyway, we'd better head to class. Coming with us, Bakura?"

"No, I'd like to get to know Ryou here," he replied. My heart nearly stopped. Bakura wanted to get to know me? My wildest—and I do mean wildest—dreams were coming true, right this moment! What would we do first? Perhaps he'd undress me, or maybe he'd start with a passionate kiss—

I forced myself to push away my perverted thoughts. Bakura was a social person—he wanted to know as many people as possible. I was just another possible friend to him.

"Alright then, see you," Marik said, and left with Malik.

I was alone with Bakura in a room with a lock and a bed. The only thing that sort of ruined it was that Bakura would never consider climbing in bed with me.

"So, Ryou, what made you suddenly decide to dress gothic style?" Bakura asked. He sounded like an interviewer.

"Um…I just liked the style, that's all," I replied. "Plus, the music is really good, so I figured that I'd reflect my liking for the music with my clothes."

"Really? That's how I went goth too!" Bakura said with a grin. I had to grin as well.

"You're serious?" I asked. He nodded.

"And sorry for never really talking to you before. I guess that you just didn't stand out as much," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"No, it's alright. I guess that I didn't really want to be noticed," I said with a forced laugh.

"Actually, I thought that you were a prep. You kind of dressed like one," Bakura said and laughed. I continued my forced laugh, and scratched the back of my head.

"Well, um, it was all I could afford at the time," I replied and stopped my forced laughing. Bakura smirked slightly.

"So what bands do you listen to?" he asked. I paused. I didn't even know all the names of the different "heavy metal rock" genres. Marik had listed them at one time, and there were many. I thought hard, and quickly, which wasn't an easy task at all. A name came to my mind.

"Marilyn Monroe," I replied. Bakura blinked and raised both eyebrows.

"Are you sure you don't mean, 'Marilyn Manson?'" he asked. I mentally slapped myself and kicked myself in the ass.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm feeling a little light-headed," I said and forced a laugh yet again. "Yes, I listen to her." Bakura raised an eyebrow. He probably thought that I was a poser by now. "I mean him." He nodded slowly, as though he was sizing me up. "Right. Um…and you?"

"Well, I especially enjoy Avenged Sevenfold, Three Day's Grace, and Dir en Grey," he said. "I'm sure you've heard of them. They're quite popular at the moment." I smiled.

"Yes, I like Dir en Grey's song…" I mentally slapped myself. Why had I said that??! I didn't even know who the hell Dir en Grey was. I'd never even heard of the other two! Stupidly, I said the first thing that came to my mind, "…Saku?"

"Yes! I like that song too! It's on their Withering to Death album—do you own it?" Bakura asked. I nearly fainted. Luck was toying with me today. Luck was also probably laughing his or her, maybe its ass off at me.

"No, I download all my music from iTunes, but sometimes I can't get the full albums. I usually just get singles," I replied, feeling stupid again.

"Ahh. Same here, when I don't feel like shopping. Besides, I have to order Dir en Grey's music from Japan—it costs me nearly forty dollars an album. Unfortunately, Hot Topic doesn't carry all of their albums. Anyway, have you ever listened to any of Diru's songs on their album 'The Marrow of a Bone?'" he asked. I nodded.

"Yes—their song Kuroma is very good," I replied, making up a word again. Hopefully it would work. Bakura stared at me.

"They don't have a song called Kuroma," he said.

"Oh—I was thinking of another band. Sorry," I quickly said. Yup, Luck was having a load of fun wherever it was. Bakura nodded.

"Ahh, I see. Oh—nice collar, by the way," he added.

"Thanks!" I said. Secretly, I was hoping that his fetish for collars would take over his hormonal instincts and he'd tackle me to the bed, but that wasn't going to happen. Bakura looked to the clock on the wall.

"Well, I'd best be off to class," he said. I nodded.

"Yes, me too," I said. He paused.

"Wait a moment." Bakura lifted his hand and pressed the back of it to my forehead. My heart skipped a beat—maybe two, or even three. Bakura was touching me so tenderly, so lovingly I could have died. "You have a fever. Stay here until the nurse tells you to leave, alright?" he said.

"Alright," I said. "Thanks. It was nice talking to you." A lie. It sucked talking to him yet not being able to touch him most of the time.

"Same here. See you again tomorrow, I hope," Bakura said with a grin. I nodded and waved as he stood up and left. Sighing and frowning to myself once he was gone, I flopped back over onto the bed and cussed myself out for not trying to brush his hand with mine, at the very least. But still, he'd touched my forehead, with his own hand! I smiled and reached up, touching the spot. It tingled beneath my fingers. I suppressed a slight moan just as the nurse walked in.

"Do you have a headache?" she asked. I gasped, surprised, and nodded instinctively.

"Y-yes. I might've smacked my head against something when I fainted," I replied, making something up. She nodded and brought me an icepack, which I held to the back of my head. With a frown, I realized that I'd have to wash my hair sometime, which meant washing off Bakura's essence from my face.

"I'm obsessed," I mumbled to myself, and sighed. The nurse blinked.

"What was that?" I "erked."

"Um…my stomach's upset," I said. She nodded and dragged a short trashcan to the side of the cot.

"You're a boy. So if you need to vomit, I expect you to aim right," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, "but why do you expect me to aim correctly?"

"You pee standing up, and you have to aim when you do that. So if you do throw up, you'd better not get any on the floor," she said sternly. I nodded with a sweatdrop.

"Alright, I'll be sure to do that," I said. She left the room to do something, and I took this opportunity to think of Bakura. At first I pictured being friends with him—hanging out at the mall, at lunch, passing notes in class. Then I pictured dating him—hanging out at the movies, kissing, holding hands. After that I pictured marrying him—hanging out at home, eating together, sleeping together, having sex.

My thoughts became more perverted. I pictured him with his head between my thighs, and him, to be blunt, fucking me in the ass roughly. A blush covered my face and I moaned slightly, wanting to touch myself—badly. I ran to the bathroom. A minute later, the nurse walked in.

"Ryou? Where'd you go?" she asked in that stern voice.

"I'm in here!" I called from inside the bathroom. I quickly checked to see if the door was locked—it was.

"Oh, okay."

Soon, I'd gotten rid of my erection, wiped myself clean of my mess, and realized—I'd just cummed in the nurse's office's bathroom. I had cummed in school. I groaned quietly and held my face in my hands, embarrassed out of my wits. What had I been thinking??! After flushing the toilet and washing my hands, I lied back on the cot.

"What took ya?" the nurse asked.

"Constipated," I replied embarrassedly. She nodded.

"Eat more fiber. It helps," she said. I nodded back and rested my arm over my eyes.

Finally, the final bell rang. She dismissed me, since I technically wasn't allowed to stay there after school. Marik and Malik met up with me at my locker.

"So?" Malik asked.

"What happened?" Marik finished. I sighed.

"I cummed in the nurse's office's bathroom," I muttered, just loud enough so only they could hear. They blinked, looked to each other, and snickered.

"Good job, Ryou," Malik teased. "Anyway, I take it that you're going goth now?" I nodded once.

"Yeah. It's the only way I can talk to Bakura, right?" I asked. They nodded.

"We'll lend you some of our stuff, if you'd like. But you'll have to buy the pants yourself—ours may be too long for you," Marik said. I nodded, flinching slightly at the thought of sixty-dollar pants.

"Thanks," I uttered, and we headed our separate directions. I went home and opened the door. Surprisingly, Angel Pie didn't greet me.

"Angel?" I called. Someone stepped into my view, and I gasped.

"Ryou you're home—what in God's name are you wearing?"

It was my father.

I faltered, obviously not expecting him to be here.

"Um…clothing?" I suggested dumbly. What was I supposed to say? That my friends had brutally undressed me and redressed me in this getup? My father sighed and shook his head, disappointed.

"Ryou, you know how I feel about that type of clothing. Go change. I don't want you to become some anti-Christ, devil-worshipping person," he said.

"S-sure," I muttered, embarrassed. He watched me closely as I walked upstairs to my room. As soon as I got there and shut the door, Angel Pie leapt into my arms. She mewed frantically, staring at me. "Don't worry, it's just dad. He's back from Egypt," I explained. She kept meowing until I set her on the bed. I changed, as dad had asked, and put Marik and Malik's clothing into my backpack. I could return it to them tomorrow at school. I left my room, and Angel Pie followed, staying close to my feet. Dad was sitting in the living room, reading the paper.

"Um, welcome home," I offered. "How was Egypt?"

"Thanks. Egypt was great—my team and I found a small tomb near the Valley of the Kings," he replied with a proud smile. I smiled back.

"That's excellent! What sort of artifacts did you find?" I asked. True, dad could be a little odd sometimes, but ancient Egypt fascinated me.

"We found lots of pottery, and a couple of small statues. The mummy itself was mostly a skeleton, but that's alright," he said.

"Good." I sat down and Angel jumped into my lap. She purred and curled up. My dad continued to read the paper.

This is what it was usually like when dad came home from work. He'd read the paper or watch television, and there would be no talking until dinnertime. Of course, the only time he'd speak to me was to ask pointless questions, like, "Is your room clean?" or, "Did you finish your homework?" and sometimes, "How was school today?" Of course, I'd reply with the usual, one-word answers, "Yes," "No," and "Fine." So whenever dad was home, not much conversation happened, unless it was about him.

"So why were you dressed like that, anyway?" my dad asked, not looking up from his beloved newspaper.

"Just…trying something new," I lied.

"I've told you countless numbers of times not to dress like that, Ryou. It isn't you. Plus, you look like one of those Satanists at your school," he said. It seemed that today was different—he was actually speaking.

"I know, but I got bored with my usual outfit," I replied.

"Don't do it again. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I hope that you aren't befriending any of those…those freaks," he said with a scowl.

"No, they mostly ignore me," I said. It was true for the most part.

" 'Mostly?'" my dad inquired.

"Well, sometimes they say sorry for bumping into me in the halls, that sort of stuff," I said dully.

"Good. At least they know what that word means." My dad obviously doesn't like goth kids. He doesn't like them among other types of people. "Have you been going to church regularly?" he asked me. I nodded, though it was another lie. I slept through church every Sunday, of course. School was tiring enough—and I was an atheist. Of course, he dragged me along whenever he was here. That's my dad—the Biblephile.

"Yup. Father Smith has been doing excellent sermons lately," I replied. He nodded.

"Of course. His sermons are always rather inspiring, don't you think?" he said. I nodded again. Truth was, the priest's sermons were as boring as taking care of your friend's pet sea cucumber. Believe me, you do _not_ want to do that, especially when your friend loves that sea cucumber to bits and tells you to talk to it every day.

"So, how has school been going?" he added.

"Pretty good. My grades are going up," I said.

"That's good." He went back to reading the paper, and scowled. "Ugh. Another article on gay rights. Why does it even matter, anyway? The majority of people don't care."

"It's not like you have to read it," I muttered.

"They shouldn't publish it. They could publish something much more interesting and important. If you ask me, we should relocate all homosexuals to an island in the middle of the Pacific where we won't have to deal with them," he snarled. I mentally sighed, feeling quite depressed all of a sudden.

"I suppose," I mumbled. Dad was the only family I had left—if I didn't pretend to agree with him, I'd lose him. And, even if he was a jerk most of the time, he was still my dad, and I needed him.

"Apparently our state is allowing gay marriage. It isn't right! This country is becoming corrupt!" he said, eyes widening. I perked up a bit.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"Well, of course it is. When you don't stick to tradition, everything goes wrong," he said. I ignored him. At the moment, I was more concerned about what sort of wedding Bakura and I should have—oh, like that would happen! But still, at least I could love a man and have him be my husband, even if that man wasn't Bakura.

"I should probably start on my homework," I said, changing the topic. He nodded.

"Alright. I'll call you down when I've made supper," he replied. I nodded back and hurried upstairs. The truth was that I didn't have any homework today, I just wanted to get away from him.

So I went to my room with Angel Pie close behind, and decided to write in my journal—today was a day to remember, after all.

TBC

Mew: Hehe! I was gonna make this a little shorter, but it didn't feel right to do that. Writing in Ryou's POV is fun, y' know? Especially when he's cynical.

Draiku: Really? –sarcastically-

Mew: -nods enthusiastically- Also, Ryou's dad's name is Jonathan. I keep forgetting to mention that, but who calls their dad by their first name? I mean, c'mon! Oh well. So yeah, he's Jonathan.

Yoko: Thanks for reading! Please R&R! –grins cheesy-like-


	3. Storms and Tornadoes

Mew: Whoot! Chapter three of Badass Boyfriend! –dances for no particular reason-

Draiku: It actually got this far? Impossible.

Mew: -victory sign- Enjoy, everyone!

ANNOUNCEMENT—VERY IMPORTANT: School has, unfortunately, started for me. This means that updates will be erratic and unpredictable due to schoolwork. Yes, I hate it too. So, I apologize in advance if I say to one of you that I should be able to update in a week or so, then I don't. Hopefully, you can forgive me for this. –bows-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh in any way, shape, or form. Kazuki Takahashi does, and he must be one rich bastard for it. –jealous-

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 3: Storms and Tornadoes

"We are gonna get married! We are gonna get married!" Malik and Marik sang loudly as they paraded through the mall with me. I was standing a few feet back from them so people wouldn't confuse us for a threesome. Just last night, as Malik had told me, Marik had gotten down on one knee in front of him and whipped out—believe it or not—a custom-made ring with a silver skull which had diamonds in its eye sockets. I wondered where Marik got the money for it. I also wondered why they were getting engaged at such a young age—they were still in high school, for crying out loud! Then again, Marik had gotten his parents' permission—much to my surprise—and the state allowed people over fifteen to get married if they had written permission. Where Malik got his permission, I didn't know.

"So, what kind of wedding are you going to have?" I asked, once they had quieted down and we were sitting in the food court. Admittedly, I was a little jealous of them. They been going out for years, having sex—which I was especially jealous of—and getting married. I hadn't so much as held hands.

"Well, I dunno. We're gonna stay engaged for a couple more months, probably," Malik said, grinning. Marik place his arm around his shoulders and pulled Malik closer.

"It'll be a few weeks before we finally decide," Marik added. "But it'll probably be a pretty formal one with a really, really, really gothic reception." I nodded.

"At least you aren't doing a Vegas-style one," I said. They laughed.

"Hey, it's our wedding, you know. It shouldn't go by so quickly," Malik said.

"Yup," Marik agreed. We went into the Hot Topic, so Marik and Malik could invite the cashier, whom they knew very well by now.

"Hey, that's excellent!" she said with a grin. "Congratulations! And thanks for inviting me!"

"No problem!" They bought a few different necklaces to add to their collection, and we headed back to the food court.

"So how're things with your dad doing?" Malik asked, after I had told them that he'd come back. I shrugged.

"The same, I guess. No talking, and the usual homophobia from him," I replied apathetically. Marik frowned slightly.

"So you haven't told him yet?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, I can't blame you. My parents were always really open, but with your dad, it would be hard." I sighed softly.

"He's really all the family I have left. If I told him, I'd lose him," I mumbled.

"You could tell him on his deathbed," Malik suggested. I just had to laugh a bit.

"Yeah, I suppose so," I said. We joked around and ate a bit more, and decided to go. While we were leaving, we bumped into Bakura. My heart, as usual, skipped a beat.

"Oh, hi Bakura!" I said, grinning. He smiled and nodded.

"Hey, Ryou, Marik, Malik," he replied. "What're you three doing here?"

"Celebrating!" Marik and Malik cheered happily. Bakura blinked, and of course asked what they were celebrating. When they told him he was, quite needless to say, shocked.

"You're…actually getting married?" he asked, stunned. Marik and Malik nodded.

"Yeah. You can come to the wedding if you'd like," Marik said with a wink.

"Thanks! Congrats to you two, by the way. I hope it all goes well for you," Bakura said, grinning at the two. I mentally sighed with relief. Ever since I fell head-over-heels in love with Bakura, a deep fear in my mind told me that he was homophobic. At least now I knew that he wasn't. "Are you coming too, Ryou?" Bakura asked, looking to me and breaking me from my thoughts.

"Of course I am!" I replied, grinning at him again. Marik and Malik explained what they wanted the wedding and reception to be like to him. It included lots of hard-core metal rock music at the reception, among other things.

"And your honeymoon?" Bakura asked. Now we were sitting in the food court yet again, since our plans to leave failed.

"We haven't really thought of that," Malik admitted, laughing and scratching the back of his head. "But it'll be nice." He gazed at Marik and smiled somewhat dreamily, an expression I seldom saw on Malik's face. Marik gazed right back, squeezing Malik's hand affectionately. It was even stranger to see that dreamy gaze on Marik's face than it was on Malik's. Marik suddenly blinked, looking up.

"You two go on talking, if you'd like. Don't let us hold you up," he said with a grin. I blushed slightly, and they continued smiling at each other.

"So, Ryou," Bakura said, looking to me. "What happened? I thought you were going goth." I shifted slightly in my seat.

"My dad isn't exactly…open-minded about the whole goth thing. He was away on business the day I tried it, but when I got back home, he made me change. If I'm caught again, he'll lower my allowance by half, and I'm already low enough on cash, so I'll just stop until he leaves again," I said quietly.

"Ah, I know what you mean. My dad also wasn't too keen on the idea of me dressing like this. He left, though," Bakura said casually.

"Your dad left you?" I repeated. He nodded.

"He was an alcoholic and a bastard anyway. I don't miss him one bit," he snarled the last sentence with such hatred it was surprising.

"I see…I'm sorry to hear that," I murmured, not knowing what else to say.

"It's alright, really. So you have both your parents, still?" Bakura asked, looking to me. I shook my head, and he raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"No, my mother died while giving birth to me," I said. He gasped.

"I'm sorry," he immediately said, as though on instinct. Meanwhile, Marik and Malik had begun a passionate open-mouthed kiss.

"It's alright. You can't really miss someone that you've never known before," I insisted. He frowned slightly.

"I don't know what I'd do without my mother. Is it ever hard?" he asked. I blinked, wondering why he was asking this, but shrugged slightly for my answer.

"Sometimes. When dad's away, it gets a bit lonely for me," I admitted. "I have my kitten, Angel, but she can't talk, so…yeah, I sometimes do with that I had a mom." After a moment of silence, I finally began shaking slightly. Tears formed in my eyes and streamed down my face. The truth was, I had always wished that I'd had a mother. I didn't really care who it was, but she'd accept me. My father was simply too religious.

So during my little breakdown in front of Bakura, Marik and Malik stopped making out, and Bakura put his hand on my shoulder. I quickly wiped my tears on my sleeve and looked up, trying my hardest not to start crying again.

"S-sorry--," I started.

"Don't apologize for that, Ryou," Bakura said softly. I sniffed slightly, and nodded once. "I'll be here if you ever need me." I nodded once again, and started crying again. Not in sadness this time, but in gratitude. Bakura of all people was offering to comfort me when I was sad. Marik and Malik had done the same long ago, when I'd first met them, but it was quite unlikely that Bakura would do this to just anyone. Maybe he did like me?

Of course, that was impossible.

Even so, when I leaned on his shoulder, I felt as though I'd died and gone straight to Heaven.

-

Later that night, as we were driving home, a tornado warning was issued across the city. I invited Marik and Malik over, since my house was closet, and I didn't want them driving out in the middle of a storm.

"Thanks again, Ryou. I just hope your dad doesn't make us wear your clothes," Malik said, grinning jokingly at me. I laughed and unlocked the front door. Angel Pie greeted me, though she still seemed wary of dad when I picked her up. She mewed at Malik, leapt off my shoulder, and into his arms. Malik laughed and petted her with two fingers.

"Aww. You've grown, Angel," he said, smiling at her. She just mewed back and nuzzled his hand.

"I think that she looks forward to seeing you," I said, and peered into the living room. Dad was sitting in there, listening to the weather forecast on the radio. "Dad? I brought some friends of mine over because of the tornado," I said. He nodded.

"Alright. Stop standing in the doorway and come in, then," he said and smiled before Marik and Malik were visible to him. I sat down, and as soon as they entered the living room, his smile collapsed into a stunned frown.

"This is Marik and Malik, and this is my dad," I said to all three of them. Marik walked over and shook my father's hand.

"Nice t' meet you," he said, smiling and ever-polite as always with adults. My dad nodded slowly.

"Nice to meet you too," he said cautiously, and tugged his hand away carefully. "So are you two brothers?" he asked Marik and Malik. I cracked up laughing—in my mind, that is.

"No," the two replied simply. He blinked.

"Cousins?"

"No. We're just friends," Malik said with a slight smirk, and pulled out one of his lollipops from his bottomless pocket of cherry candy-on-a-stick. My dad raised an eyebrow, watching him lick it slowly. I stifled a slight laugh, noticing Marik's expression as he gazed at Malik.

"Well, I'm getting something to eat. You wanna come with me and help me make it, Marik?" I asked, deciding to save my friend from getting a hard-on in front of my homophobic dad. He quickly stood.

"Sure! Where's the kitchen?" he asked. He and I walked into the kitchen, and once we were inside, he muttered into my ear, "And, where's the bathroom? Can I take a shower?"

"Sure. Just be quick and don't get your hair too wet," I whispered back. He thanked me and snuck into the bathroom upstairs. I talked to myself, pretending to talk to Marik and imitating his voice. When I brought a few sandwiches into the living room, my dad raised and eyebrow at me.

"Is someone taking a shower?" he asked.

"It's just the rain. See?" I replied, and pulled up the blinds. It was raining heavily outside, which probably meant that Luck was on my side today. After I convinced him, I turned on the fan to distract him from the hissing water in the shower.

"Where'd Malik go?" my dad asked.

"You mean Marik?" Malik replied.

"Yes, um, him."

"He's good at recognizing clouds and such that come from tornadoes. He's just watching them to see if we're in trouble," I lied, and decided that I was getting too used to lying so much.

"Ah, I see," my dad said. Malik blinked, looking into my father's hand.

"Is that a Rosary ring?" he asked, pointing. My dad looked down, examined it, and nodded.

"Yes. I carry it around whenever there's a storm or something," he replied.

"May I see it?" Malik asked. My dad nodded warily and handed it to him. Malik gazed at it, looking it over. "I've always kind of liked religious art. It's pretty interesting to see," Malik said with a slight smile, and handed it back to my dad, who looked relieved.

"So you're Christian?" he asked.

"No, I'm Islamic. My parents were from Egypt. I'm not very devoted, though. I was also thinking of converting to either Buddhism or Hinduism," Malik said with a grin. My dad's face practically fell.

"I see. That's nice," he said, forcing the last two words out. I mentally snickered. My dad disliked polytheists with a passion, and he feared Hindus the most. Marik walked back into the living room from the kitchen.

"Thanks, Ryou," he whispered to me as he passed me. I gave a quick nod.

"So what does the forecast call for?" I asked him. He paused, and I winked subtly. Thankfully, he got the hint.

"I think we'll be fine as long as that cloud stays away." Marik pointed out the window at a large-looking black could in the distance. "I think it will, considering that the wind is blowing westward, pushing it away." My dad paused, as though he was looking over Marik.

"Are you Islamic?" he asked. Marik blinked.

"No. I'm an atheist," Marik replied simply. I laughed in my mind again. To my dad, atheists were the worst, even worse than terrorists or rapists. And I was an atheist. He'd murder me if he found out.

"You are?" my dad asked, surprised. Marik nodded and noticed the Rosary between my father's fingers.

"Ah, you're a devout Christian, I see," he said, pointing at it. "I can see why you're surprised. If you're wondering why, I just choose not to believe in a concept that isn't provable." My dad's eyes widened considerably. I bit the inside of my lower lip, hoping that he wouldn't ramble off about not believing in something that "every sensible person knew was there." Of course, my hopes turned out to be worthless.

"But…how could you _not_ believe in God? He gave you life! He gave all of us life!" my father argued. Marik raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever you say, I'm not budging," he replied simply.

"Then how do you explain the creation of the universe?" my father went on.

"No one can explain that scientifically," Marik said after a moment.

"Exactly! That's because God created it Himself, and your science is too primitive to prove that!" my dad said with a triumphant grin, and sat back in his seat.

"How do you know that if God hasn't come down here Himself and told you?" Marik replied. It was evident that he'd had this discussion many times before.

"He gives us proof every day of our lives," my father said.

"Such as?"

"The rainbow after a storm. It's His promise that He will never flood the world of sin again."

"The rainbow is created by light shining through water particles in the air. There are always water particles around, but after a rainstorm, they're especially abundant," Marik said. "Besides, if it had really rained for 40 days and 40 nights, there would be massive erosion occurring all over. There isn't any visible evidence of that."

"That's because God…changed the physical features of the world to match themselves before the storm," my father said, sounding a little uncomfortable. I mentally chuckled. Marik was kicking his ass in this. Marik paid no attention to my dad's statement, obviously not impressed.

"Also, if the entire world was covered in water, and everyone was killed except for Noah and his family, then we'd all be related to each other. And that would be incest. Physical and mental defects would show up much more often. And, if Adam and Eve were the very first humans and the world is only a few thousand years old, how do we explain fossils that are millions of years old?" Marik asked. "And if Eve grew from Adam's rib, wouldn't all men have one less rib than women? And if Eve was created that way, then why aren't all humans created by a man's rib? If Adam and Eve were straight, then how do we explain gay people? If Adam and Eve were white, how do we explain black people, and tanned people like Malik and I?"

"Gay people are just a mutation!" my dad yelled, standing. Malik looked up, raising an eyebrow at him, and I bit my inner lower lip again. "Obviously, being gay is a choice, a decision, not something you're born with! No normal person would choose to have sex with someone of the same gender!" I sighed quietly and secretly rolled my eyes. Dad and homophobia went together like cookies and milk. Malik glanced at me empathetically, and I just shrugged in reply. By now I'd learned not to care all that much.

"So to you, gay people are just freaks of nature?" Marik asked dully, raising an eyebrow. My father nodded once.

"Yes. It was Adam and Eve. A man and a woman," he said simply, with anger lacing his voice.

"Then you accept incest as normal?" Marik said with a slight smirk.

"No, of course not--."

"Well, you sure sound like you do. If we are all related to Adam and Eve, then we're all relatives, right? You must be my uncle, and Malik must be my cousin! Hell, Ryou could be my brother!" Marik went on. Malik laughed and placed the cherry lollipop between his top and bottom front teeth, grinning. "And in order to have Ryou, you did your sister," Marik finished off. I mentally snickered, trying my hardest to keep a straight face. My dad opened his mouth to reply, but Malik interrupted him.

"Sounds like the storm's over. We'd better get going, Ryou. Thanks for letting us stay while it was raining and all," he said. Marik nodded Malik stood up. They waved at me.

"Thanks again, Ryou," both said. I waved back, and before they left, Marik made a point to passionately kiss Malik right in front of my dad. My father's eyes widened again, and I snickered quietly at his reaction. Marik finally pulled away.

"See you in school tomorrow, Ryou," he said, grinning somewhat evilly at me. I nodded and said goodbye, and they left. My dad stood in front of his chair, still stunned. He crossed himself, and I rolled my eyes as he sat down.

"You're not to hang out with them anymore, Ryou," he told me in a shaking voice.

"Yes, father," I replied simply, and hurried up to my room. Once I was there, I buried my face in a pillow and cracked up laughing.

TBC

Mew: For the record, I've had that argument (as in, the one between Ryou's dad and Marik) with some fundamentalists at my old school. Let me be the first to tell you that they get _angry_ if you insult their beliefs, even if you don't mean to. I don't like fundamentalists very much.

Draiku: They threw a chair at you.

Mew: Yes, they did. –sigh- At least I won the argument, since they got in trouble in the end. That, to me, is a victory.

Yoko: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please R&R, and give us your thoughts! Thanks!


	4. Girlfriends

Mew: Whoo! It's chapter four of Badass Boyfriend! –cheers- Thanks for putting up with me, and thanks to all the reviewers! They give me energy and motivation!

Draiku: Like…Red Bull.

Mew: I need some of that right about now. You will also hate me for this chapter.

Draiku: Yes you will!

Mew: Anyway, I am extremely sorry that updates aren't as quick as they were before. School is quite literally wearing me out. Plus, I'm not taking a study hall, so that means that I have tons of homework (mostly geometry) at home. I probably have some disease that prevents me from understanding any form of math except two plus two, so it usually takes forever. I'm staying up past one writing these. –dies- Usually I only do that in the summer. You see how much I love you all??!! –cries-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything else that happens to be copyrighted in this fiction.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 4: Girlfriends

It took all I had to drag myself out of bed the next morning. This was usually a sign that literally screamed something similar to, "Hey, Ryou! NYAH-NYAH! You're gonna have a horrible day today, and I'm gonna laugh at you! Nee-ner-nee-ner-boo-boooooo!"

I tried my hardest to ignore the imaginary taunts, but because they were imaginary, I couldn't ignore them. So instead, I focused on a small, dark stain on the wall, hoping that it could somehow come to life and beat up the imaginary voice making the imaginary taunts in my head.

As you can tell by my disoriented babbling, I am not at all a morning person.

After sluggishly getting dressed in a pair of jeans, a cream-colored sweater (which I wish to burn someday), and my tennis shoes, I made my way downstairs in a slow manner. I dragged my feet into the kitchen, and sat down at the table.

"Good morning, Ryou," my father greeted with a cheery grin. He was a morning-lover. If morning was a person—a girl—he'd marry her in a second. He loved morning almost as much as he loved the Bible.

"Goo' mornin'," I replied and yawned like a cat.

"You're up early. Are you ill?" my father asked. I shook my head and got up again, making my way to the coffee machine. After pouring bean juice into my mug, I sat down at the table again, and took a long sip. I waited a moment, but the caffeine didn't kick in like it should.

"Caffeinated?" I asked my dad lazily. He blinked.

"It was in the blue container," he replied. I groaned. That meant that it _was_ caffeinated, but I'd grown so used to the stuff that it wasn't affecting me as much as I wanted it to.

I downed two more cups and finally started on my cereal. By now, it was all soggy with milk. I didn't care. At least I wasn't half-dead anymore.

"So," I said, now that I could carry on a decent conversation with my father, "when are you headed back to Egypt?" He shrugged and took a sip of his own, decaf coffee. At times like this, I swore that he was insane.

"Probably a few months," he replied. "I kind of have summer vacation, except it's during the school year."

"Lucky," I mumbled. Of course, I was somewhat angry at him for staying so long. This meant that Bakura probably wouldn't talk to me because I wasn't dressing gothic, and even if I did start up again after my dad left, he would still ignore me. I was doomed.

"So," I said again, but the clock suddenly struck eight. I sighed, and stood up. "I'd better get to school. See you, dad." He nodded his goodbye and I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders and set off.

-

School was probably bad from the start. Malik was at home sick, so Marik was moping around because of it.

"I should've stayed with him and taken care of him!" Marik kept saying to me. I pretended to listen. "Dammit. It isn't my fault he's all alone! He never should've insisted that I go on ahead to school! I'd rather spend my life broke than be in this hellhole!"

"Yeah, same here," I replied a little sarcastically. Marik sighed and flung his backpack to the ground for no apparent reason. He cursed in a mumble. "He'll be fine tomorrow, though," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He sighed again.

"I can't wait until we're married. Then I'll be able to be with him the rest of my life. That's…my dream," he murmured. I smiled.

"It's his too, Marik. I'm sure of it," I said to him. Actually, Malik's dream was to become the next Marilyn Monroe—er, Manson—but at the moment, Marik wanted some comforting. He sighed yet again and gave a weak little smile.

"Thanks, but I know that he wants to be the next Marilyn Manson, Ryou," he told me with a forced chuckle. I forced a laugh as well and sweatdropped.

"Well, I thought it would cheer you up a bit—if you'd believe me, that is," I said to him. He grinned and we decided to head to our next class. On the way, I bumped into someone, quite roughly. For some reason, it reminded me of an anime—the wimpy guy always seems to bump into someone, usually resulting in getting beat up or learning something horrible. At the moment, I felt like that spiky-haired, large-eyed, wimpy anime guy.

"Sorry," I said quickly, looking up to see who I'd bumped into. I mentally gasped.

"No problem. So, what's up, Ryou?" Bakura asked me.

"Um, nothing much," I replied softly. "Just…heading to class."

"Oh, then I won't hold you up," he said with a laugh and a grin. I suddenly noticed a brown-haired girl standing beside him. "Oh, have you met Anzu yet?" he asked suddenly. I blinked, and nodded once. She was the foreign exchange student from Japan.

"Yes, I've never really talked to her, though," I said softly. Truth was, I could barely understand her, much less speak to her.

"Ah, I see," Bakura said and laughed again. He said something to Anzu—I couldn't understand it, but it sounded like Japanese. I blinked, and she nodded, commenting on something in the same language. "I just told her, 'Anzu, this is Ryou, my friend. He looks sort of preppy, but he's actually gothic,'" Bakura explained. "Then she said, 'I see. It's hard to tell with the clothes he's wearing.'" I blinked again.

"Oh," I said dumbly. "I didn't know that you could speak Japanese," I added.

"Anzu taught me. She speaks some English, but mostly Japanese. We're kind of teaching each other the languages," Bakura replied.

"That's cool," I commented. I'd always wanted to learn an Asian language. "So you two are hanging out now?" I asked, a little confused, since Anzu was far from gothic. Bakura nodded and put an arm around her shoulders. She smiled warmly at him.

"We're boyfriend and girlfriend," he said, grinning. First, my mouth dropped open. Then, my heart sank.

"You are?" I asked, and Bakura nodded. "For how long?"

"Just about two weeks," Bakura replied. I mentally sighed, and felt like I wanted to cry. I held back my tears, of course.

"C-congratulations, then," I said rather dumbly. I briskly looked at my wrist, though I wasn't wearing a watch. "W-well, I'd better be off to class." Bakura nodded and I quickly turned away from them, even though I was going the wrong way. He and Anzu went the opposite direction, when suddenly someone called my name.

"Ryou!" said an old, female voice. It sounded like the nurse's. I flicked around and saw her, as well as the janitor, marching towards me. I blinked.

"Um…yes?" I said. She grabbed my arm and dragged me into her office, and slammed the door. The poor janitor was just barely missed, and the door creaked back open.

"I know what you did in my bathroom two days ago," she hissed, sitting me down at the cot. I gasped, a huge blush covering my entire face. "A-HAH! Guilty as charged!" she declared.

"H-how?" I whispered nervously. She pointed at the janitor.

"Benjamin here found your semen on the wall while he was cleaning the bathroom today!" she said. My stomach lurched, for two reasons. One, she knew that I had been masturbating in the school. Two, the janitor hadn't cleaned it yesterday. "You were the only one to use it besides myself, and I obviously don't have a penis!"

"S-surely it's a mistake…" I whimpered uneasily. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Don't you dare doubt my judgment, Ryou," she hissed. "What were you thinking about? Rather, who were you thinking about?"

My mind raced.

I couldn't say that I was thinking about Bakura—that would get me a one-way trip out of my home and into the homeless shelter. I quickly thought of all the girls at school.

"M-Mana!" I blurted. Outside, there was a shrill shriek. Great. Things were getting better and _better_.

"Mana?" the nurse asked. Mana was a blond girl who loved the colors pink and blue. She was also very hyper, and could get easily obsessed with things.

I quickly nodded, just as a girl burst into the room.

It was Mana.

"Ryou was _fapping_ while he was thinking about _me_??!!" she demanded loudly. My stomach lurched several times. The nurse gasped.

"How do you know that??!" she demanded.

"I heard everything. Were you, Ryou??!" Mana yelled, looking to me. I nodded meekly. Her bewildered expression became one of—great joy?

Oh, God no.

"I LOVE YOU TOO, RYOU!!!" she screeched and tackle-hugged me. I let out a cry of surprise—and pain—as my head smacked against the wall. Thankfully, I wasn't damaged—well, physically.

"Get off of her, Ryou!" the nurse yelled. Great; now the nurse was blaming me for grabbing her and pulling her down.

"I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you!" Mana squealed, nuzzling me. I shuddered and finally, the janitor pulled her off and pushed her out. She stayed right outside, of course, peering in through the window.

"Anyway, I think that since no one saw you in the act, you won't be in trouble. Just don't do it again," the nurse said. I meekly nodded and she shoved me out. Unfortunately, Mana was _still_ there.

"Do you really love me?" she asked, getting all sparkly-eyed. I sweatdropped. What could I tell her? I didn't want to hurt her feelings…

"Um…yes," I said.

That was probably the biggest mistake in my entire life.

So from that moment on, Mana and I went _everywhere._ Even to my house after school. Dad liked it, at least.

"You finally have a girlfriend, Ryou! Good! I was worried about you!" he said, grinning at us. "So, let me meet her." I reluctantly nodded, and they began speaking. Dad definitely liked Mana—she was highly religious, Catholic, and took the Bible literally, just like my dad.

"Of course I love God! He gave all of us life—who wouldn't love Him?" Mana was saying. I sighed and lounged on the couch.

"Tch, an idiot doomed to Hell wouldn't love him," my dad said. "You opinion on gays and lesbians?" Mana paused, thinking.

"Well, it's against the Bible, so they should all burn," she said with a cheery grin. I shuddered, but thankfully no one noticed me. My dad praised her, of course.

After she left an hour later, dad and I were left alone.

"She's a good girl, Ryou. She'd be good for you," my dad said. I sighed and nodded.

"She's a little clingy, though," I muttered.

"That's alright. The clingier, the better," my dad replied simply. I nodded again, and said that I needed to do my homework. I really didn't need to, but I wanted to get away from everyone today.

-

"So…" Marik said, looking between Mana and me as we sat at lunch, a dull expression on his face. "You're in love with Ryou?" he asked, pointing to Mana. She nodded enthusiastically. Marik looked to my empathetically, as did Malik. I was glad they were here, at least.

"Of course I do!" she said. "I've always loved cute, little Ryou! Well, at least until about a month ago." She grabbed my arm and nuzzled it.

"How'd you get together?" Malik asked. Clearly, he was trying to distract me from her.

"Well--," I started, but she interrupted.

"Well, Ryou was in the nurse's office, and I heard that he was fapping and thinking about me at the same time! I was so happy that I jumped in and hugged him!" Mana declared proudly. I blushed heavily and held my face in my free hand. Marik burst out laughing, and Malik snickered quietly.

"You're joking," he said. Mana shook her head.

"Anyway, I gotta head to the bathroom. See you in a bit!" she said, jumped up, waved, and skipped away. I groaned and hung my head.

"I hate this," I mumbled.

"I thought that you loved Bakura," Marik said.

"I do! But…I didn't want to hurt her feelings. And it's not like I can tell her I'm gay! She wants all gay people to burn in Hell!" I whined.

"Oh," Marik and Malik both said. "Sucks for you," Marik added.

"I know that already," I groaned and massaged my temples.

"We'll find a way to break you two up, alright?" Malik said, patting my hand.

"Thanks," I mumbled. He just smirked.

"So I take it your dad just _adores_ Mana?" Marik asked dully. I nodded.

"Yeah. Loves her to bits. Unfortunately for me, of course. He says that if I break up with her, he won't pay for my tuition in college," I said softly. "She's ultra-religious, too, and has been dragging me along to every single mass every single day of the week. Even dad doesn't do that!" Marik whistled.

"Ouch."

"Here she comes," Malik warned. Mana skipped over and sat down right next to me so our legs weren't just touching—our legs were groping each other.

"So are you two devil-worshippers?" Mana asked Marik and Malik. The sighed and shook their heads.

"No, I'm Islamic. I believe in God—except to me, He's Allah," Malik replied dully. It was obvious that he got this a _lot_.

"So are you a terrorist?" Mana asked. I wanted to slap her, as Marik probably did.

"Of course not. I'm not _that_ devoted. I don't even pray," Malik replied. He seemed to get this a lot too. "Not all Muslims blow themselves up, you know. Only the extremists, and there are very few. Besides, there are Christian terrorists too. Just ask the Vatican about their little massacres," he continued.

"So you're both Islamic?" Mana continued, ignoring Malik.

"No, I'm an atheist," Marik said, sitting up as if he was ready for a confrontation.

"What's that?" Marik groaned and slumped.

"It means that I don't believe in God. I don't believe in any sort of higher being," he replied. She gasped.

"Oh my. How sad," she murmured. Marik sweatdropped.

"How so?" he asked.

"God hates you," she commented in a very, very serious tone. I seriously wanted to slap her. My hand was twitching.

"Then he's self-contradictory. God claims that He loves everyone, but if He hates me, then He doesn't love everyone," Marik replied.

"Why don't you believe?" Mana asked. "You'd be way happier."

"Believe me, I'm perfectly happy without God. As far as I'm concerned, He was created in some crackpot's mind," Marik said dully.

"How can you possibly be happy?" she asked. I groaned. She'd been brainwashed. I didn't exactly want to slap her now, I wanted to feel sorry for her (but I still wanted to slap her a little, too).

"There are more things than God, you know," Marik said.

"God is everything!"

"Not really. Besides, I have Malik," Marik said, and smiled at Malik, who smiled back. She blinked, tilting her head.

"You're brothers?" she asked.

"Closer," Malik replied with a grin. Still confused, she asked what that was supposed to mean.

"You wanna see?" Marik asked with a somewhat evil smirk.

"Okaaaay," she replied, drawling out the word.

"Alright then." Malik and Marik grinned at each other for a split second, then kissed passionately. Mana's eyes widened. I snickered slightly.

"NOO! Stop right now or you'll both go to Hell!" she cried. The two ignored her and continued on, wrapping their arms around each other slowly. "Wait! They're not technically having sex, so they're saved!" Mana said, grinning.

"Too late for that," Marik replied.

"We've definitely done it. Lots," Malik murmured in a husky voice, not even looking at her. His eyes were staring right into Marik's, and finally, Mana crossed herself, got up, and ran off, dragging me behind, of course.

"We aren't talking to those two ever again, Ryou!" she yelled.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Yeah, right.

-

A few days later, Mana asked me out. She didn't even wait for me to accept, and grabbed my hand anyway. We went to her house. Her parents weren't home. Beads of sweat trickled down my face.

"Ready, Ryou?" she said, grinning mischievously. My eyes widened.

"R-ready for what?" I replied. She sauntered over to the CD player and turned it on. Swinging her hips, she put on a very suggestive show for me. The song itself was suggestive as well.

"I don't want, anybody else, when I think about you I touch myself," she sang, and began to take off her shirt.

Oh, God no.

TBC

Mew: CLIFFHANGER! Take that. Muahaha. Don't worry, this isn't meant to say that they do have sex. OR DO THEY??! I will never tell.

Draiku: Ouch…poor Ryou. I hope she doesn't rape him. OR DOES SHE?

Mew: Yay! You're getting into the spirit! –cheers- Oh, and those who are wondering why Mana's so dumb? Well, I wanted her dumb, so she's dumb. So there. (Plus, I threatened a friend of mine that I'd stick him—yes, him—in a fanfiction if he didn't stop picking on me for liking gay people. He took the risk. I'll be showing him this chapter soon. –cracks knuckles-)

Yoko: Um. Okay then. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please R&R if you liked it!


	5. Breakups

Mew: Gah, gah, gah, gah, gah. –dies- I had no inspiration for this chapter for a day or two, so things will be moving faster than I originally planned them to. I wanted to reach at least ten chapters on this story, but I'm not really sure if that'll happen with the way things are going. I'm sorry.

Draiku: You'd better be. This is one of your better stories.

Mew: Y'know, it really is. –sighs- I'll try my hardest, everyone!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku unfortunately doesn't own anything in this fic, because she's horridly poor.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 5: Breakup

"M-mana??! What are you doing??!" I exclaimed as she slid her jeans off slowly. She just smirked at me.

"What's it look like, Ryou?" she replied with an evil grin. "We're going to have sex with each other." I scooted backwards, shocked and repulsed at the same time. There was no way I was going to have sex with her!

"Mana, wait!" I cried as she sauntered towards me. Actually, it came out more like a pathetic squeal. I suppose that I was pretty pathetic—a _girl_ was trying to seduce me, and I couldn't even get away. She paused a moment before sliding her panties off—oh, god. Why me? Just a few days ago I'd discovered that Bakura had a girlfriend, and that Mana was obsessed with me—Luck was having an excellent time wherever it was.

"Wait for what?" she asked me. There was a pause as my mind raced. "Oh, yeah! The condom! And don't worry—even if it breaks, I'm on the pill." She smiled much too innocently for the situation. She finally removed her bra, and here I was, sitting on the floor in front of a naked girl.

My stomach flopped over and stayed that way.

Sliding up to me, she reached for my jeans. Suddenly, an idea came to my mind—just in time!

"Wait! Isn't it against God's rules to have sex before you're married?" I blurted. She looked at me, eyes wide, and gasped.

"Oh my God—you're right! I totally forgot! We'd better get married soon, Ryou—I don't think I can wait too much longer!" she said, pulling away and quickly getting dressed. I sighed with relief.

"A-also, birth control is also against the Bible. So if we do have sex, we'd better want kids," I continued. She groaned.

"Darn it!" she whined. "Oh well. I'll _try_ to be patient." For once in my life, I was glad to have a religious father.

"Y-yeah, um, me too," I lied. "W-well, I'd better h-head home." I stood up, subconsciously brushing myself off, and made my way to the door. "W-well, bye, Mana." She waved cheerfully, as though she'd forgotten what had happened just a few seconds ago. As soon as I was out of sight of her home, I raced to mine. When I finally arrived, I immediately found my father.

"Ryou, you're back already? That date was quick--," he was saying, but I clasped my hands around his and held them to my chest.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," I murmured, hugged him, and hurried to my room before he could ask any questions. I shut the door, locked it, reached under my mattress, and pulled out a magazine. Settling myself on my bed, I flipped through it slowly, staring at the photos of naked men with acute interest.

Don't get me wrong—I don't normally look at gay pornography. My mind supplies enough sexual fantasies already. But right now, I was desperate to get the images of naked Mana out of my head before I projectile vomited all over the place.

-

School the next day was definitely odd. The morning began on a high note, the kind that makes your ears bleed.

"Well, fine! Fuck you to Hell!" Malik yelled down the hall, right at Marik, who was stomping away.

"Bastard! Go fuck yourself and die somewhere!" Marik yelled right back at him. I stared, definitely shocked. Marik and Malik _never_ fought with each other. They were the perfect couple. Something was definitely wrong. Everyone around me sensed it too as they watched Marik shove past a freshman. For the record, Marik was always nice to freshmen—he knew how hard it was to come to an entirely new school.

"Malik, what's wrong?" I asked, walking over to my friend. He pushed past me and went straight to his next class without a word.

Throughout the morning, until lunch, Malik wouldn't speak with me, and he would totally ignore Marik except to maybe hiss an insult under his breath at him. Marik didn't say a word—he just continued walking, an unreadable expression on his face.

At lunch, Marik sat with me, and Malik went to sit with Bakura's buddies. The two of us were alone, and silent most of the time. Finally, about half-way through lunch, I got up the courage to speak to him.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently. He sighed, picking at a few kernels of corn with his plastic fork.

"Malik and I got into a fight," he said softly. Well, that was obvious. Of course, I didn't say that out loud.

"What was it about?" I said.

"Well," Marik started, "you know how they legalized gay marriage here? Well, it turns out that it costs _extra_ just to be officially married, plus the businesses have agreed to make everything—catering, invitations, things like that—more expensive for gay couples. The state may have legalized it, but it's nearly impossible for us to actually have a wedding. It's over twice the amount straight couples have to pay." I gasped.

"That's unfair!" I exclaimed. Marik nodded.

"I know that. Malik thinks that we should just call it off and not get married right now, and hope that we have enough in the future. I wanted to get married now because we're going to different colleges. After four years, we may have lost our affection for one another," he muttered sadly. "I told him that, and he yelled at me for thinking that it might happen. But it could! He or I might find someone else while we're at college! I just want to make sure that we stay together, because I know that we both want to. But…he broke up with me this morning." I gasped again.

"You're kidding. Over that?" I asked. He nodded.

"I just want to make sure we'll still love each other afterwards," he murmured. I gently wrapped an arm around his shoulders and patted his back. Marik held his head in his hands and cried softly. I'd never once seen him cry before. Not once.

"I know that you'll still love each other afterwards, but I understand you're reasoning," I said gently. "I'd want to stay with my lover forever, too, even if we do go our separate ways." Marik sighed and looked up.

"At least you get it," he mumbled, and gazed across the lunch room at Malik, who acted as though he didn't even notice. "Do you think we'll get back together?" he asked. I nodded.

"I'm sure of it, Marik. You two love each other too much to just dump one another like this," I said. He nodded, but still looked depressed, as though he was still unsure about it. I frowned at him, and the bell rang.

"Well, see you," he said, getting up to dump his tray. I sighed and bid my farewell too, and head up to class. Malik was in the same class as me, and he sat right next to me. I used this to my advantage, of course.

"What's up?" I mumbled to him while the teacher was out of the room. He shrugged and fidgeted with a buckled arm band.

"Nothing," he murmured. I frowned and he looked at me dully. "Oh, alright. Fine. Marik and I broke up," he said, rolling his eyes at me.

"I know. Marik told me at lunch," I replied.

"We can barely manage half of the money we need to have a decent wedding," Malik mumbled. "I think that we need to wait until we're settled." I nodded.

"That makes sense," I commented.

"But Marik wants to get married _now_. I don't see why, I mean, I'll love him even after college and everything," Malik continued. Normally Malik didn't tell me so much about his personal life, but I suppose that today was different. "It's not like I'm going to cheat on him while I'm there."

"He's just worried," I said. Malik glared at me, and I cringed slightly. Whenever Malik glared like he was now, it meant he wanted to strangle the person he was glaring at.

"Doesn't he trust me??!" he hissed. "I trust him! I don't see why he can't just let it go for a few years, and then we can get married afterwards! It makes much more sense!"

"You're right, but still…Marik loves you a lot. Maybe he just wants everyone to know that you two belong with each other?" I suggested. Malik sighed.

"I can tell people that if they come on to me, you know," he muttered. I nodded.

"True. And when you promise something, you usually mean it. I don't think that you'd cheat on Marik, but I see his way, too," I said. Malik sighed again and rested his head on the table.

"I want to get back together with him," he muttered. I perked up a bit. "But I can't. Not after that fight. And the marriage thing would just get in the way again. Then we'd start fighting…I'll just wait for now." I slumped slightly and put my arms on the desk. The teacher finally returned the classroom, but we kept talking in a whisper. "So, how're things with you and Mana?" Malik asked with a slightly evil grin—he was teasing me, I just knew it.

"Not so well," I replied.

"What, did she try to have sex with you?" Malik said, and chuckled lightly. I nodded, and he stopped laughing. He stared at me. "Did you do it?"

"Of course not!" I whined, a little loudly. The class stopped a moment to stare, and I quickly apologized. Malik snickered.

"What'd you say to her to reject it?" he asked once the teacher started to lecture about imaginary numbers or something like that.

"I told her it was against the Bible," I replied. "So she stopped. I doubt she'll do it again, too."

"Good. Man, I feel sorry for you," Malik said. All this thinking of the day before made me remember Mana naked in front of me. After a moment of unwilling reminiscing, I dashed to the bathroom. Malik rushed after me, and helped me out by taking me to the nurse's after I vomited into one of the sinks.

"Sheesh, what went on between you two, anyway?" he asked me on the way there. I sighed, feeling dizzy.

"She got naked. I remembered that, and…well…you know the rest," I said in a mutter. We finally arrived at the nurse's office after too-long a walk.

"What's wrong—not you again," the nurse said when she saw me coming in. I mentally rolled my eyes. This was getting annoying.

"He threw up," Malik announced. She nodded.

"Did you make it to the stool?" she asked. I shook my head.

"The sink," I groaned.

"I washed it down," Malik added.

"Alright. Lie down on the cot. And you're not allowed to use the bathroom this time," she said warily. I weakly nodded, too queasy to care. Malik stifled a laugh and helped me to the cot.

"Well, see you later, Ryou," he said with a mischievous grin. I nodded weakly and waved as he left. There I lay, alone in the nurse's office, feeling horribly ill. The only sound was the clock ticking, which annoyed the hell out of me, but I'd have to put up with it.

"You weren't thinking of that girl, were you?" the nurse suddenly asked. I blinked lazily.

"Um…what?" I mumbled, barely coherent.

"C'mon. I know that you weren't thinking of Mana or whatever while you were in the bathroom," the nurse replied. A blush covered my entire body, heating me and probably the room. The nurse sighed, got up, went to the freezer, pulled out an ice pack, and tossed it to me. I caught it in my weak hands, and put it on my forehead with a mumble of thanks.

"You know that you can tell me. I'm a girl. I'm perceptive—maybe a little _too_ perceptive. But I can tell when boys are lying," she said sternly. "So, who was it?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked.

"Curiosity," she replied with a shrug. "But judging from what I saw of Mana, you don't like her. You aren't the type to like hyperactive, clingy, obsessive girls like her." I admitted that I wanted Bakura to become totally obsessed with me, and I wouldn't mind if he was clingy, but if he was hyperactive I'd probably dislike him. Yes, even if he had a perfect, sexy body.

"You're right," I said, but that was all I planned on telling her. "I really, really don't like her. But I don't want to hurt her feelings or anything." The nurse paused.

"You just can't be straight. I mean, you practically hate a girl, yet you don't dump her and tell her the truth? Are you gay?" she asked. I froze, my eyes widening.

"A-are you even allowed to ask that??!" I hissed, embarrassed.

"From my experience, all the gay men I've met are way more considerate than the straight ones. Plus, you have long hair and a pretty face. You've got to be gay," she continued, ignoring my question. My mind raced. If I told her, would she break the news to my father? But if she didn't, it would be nice to be able to come out to someone. It would take a lot of weight off the already heavy load on my back.

"So, are you?" she said. I paused, then nodded. "Thought so." She said with a triumphant smirk.

"You won't tell anyone, right?" I asked. She nodded.

"Of course not. If you don't want me to, I'll keep it secret. Have you told your parents?" she asked. I shook my head.

"My mom's dead, and all I have is my father. He's…extremely religious and homophobic. If I told him, I'd lose my only close family member," I mumbled. She frowned slightly.

"I see," she murmured. "I'm sorry to hear that." I shook my head.

"I'll just tell him on his deathbed, when he can't change the will or anything," I said, managing a grin. She laughed slightly, too. "Um…what's your name?" I asked curiously.

"My name? It's posted outside my room," she said. "Oh well. Anyway, I'm Ms. Kujaku. But you can call me Mai."

"Are you Japanese?" I asked.

"Partially. My father was half Japanese, and he used to live there," she said. I nodded.

"Cool," I commented.

"Anyway, since you threw up, I think that I'd better call your father so he can come pick you up. You'll have to stay home from school tomorrow, by the way, in case you're contagious," she said. I blinked.

"But it came from thinking of Mana when she tried to have sex with me yesterday," I said.

"School regulations. Don't make me go into it," she said, and picked up the phone. After asking for my number, I told her, and stretched out on the cot. The school nurse—Mai Kujaku—was actually nicer than I thought she'd be. Smiling slightly, I was glad to have even more weight taken off my burden. After a moment's thought, I just realized that I'd admitted my sexuality to someone I barely knew. I wondered if this meant that I was "out," or did you have to tell your parents to qualify as "out?" I shook it off after a second, and put my hands behind my head.

"Your dad will be here in a few minutes," she said to me, hanging up the phone. "Anyway, you didn't want to tell him because he's a very religious person, and believes that homosexuality is a sin?" I nodded. "I doubt that he'd hate you, though. You're his only son, right?"

"Um…yes. I almost had an older sister, but mom had a miscarriage. She…well, giving birth was hard on her, my dad says," I mumbled softly. Sighing, I continued, "Sometimes I wonder if he hates me for being born. If I hadn't been here, mom would still be alive. I'm sure he'd be happier than he is now." I had always worried about this. What if my father hated me for simply being born? For one thing, I killed his wife while I was being brought into the world. Then to top it off, I ended up gay. Dad would hate me even more than he might.

"You're all that's left of your mom. Of course he doesn't hate you for being born," Mai said rather bluntly.

"But if he finds out that I'm gay, he will," I muttered.

"He may not accept it for a little while, but he'll learn to," Mai said simply. "Trust me." I nodded, smiling.

"Thanks." It was nice to have someone—even if it was the school nurse—to talk to. Marik and Malik were nice, but they tended to joke around a little too much. Mai, though, new precisely what to say. "You know, if I was straight, I think I'd be in love with you," I added with a grin. She laughed and patted my shoulder.

"That's nice to hear," she said, just as my father came in.

"Ryou? The nurse told me that you threw up—are you alright?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm not barfing blood or anything," I said with a weak laugh. "I'll be fine if I just rest."

"That's my line. Anyway, give him plenty of water to drink and lots of rest. I'd advise not feeding him anything too sweet, because that can trigger vomiting," Mai said to my dad. "Well, take care, Ryou." I nodded.

"You too." I left with my dad, who carried my backpack for me.

"Mrs. Kujaku is nice," he said. I blinked.

"She's a miss," I corrected. "She hasn't been married yet." My dad blinked and looked at me. I couldn't help but wonder if he had some sort of crush on her—that's what it seemed like, at least."

"Really? But she's…beautiful! With looks like that, she could have every man in the world!" he exclaimed in a somewhat quiet voice. I chuckled slightly.

"Maybe she doesn't want to get married?" I suggested. He sighed.

"That might just be the case," he said, sounding a little depressed.

"Do you like her?" I asked with a grin. He gave me a look that clearly stated, "How did you know?" So, I continued, "Well, do you?" Finally, he nodded.

"It wouldn't work out," he muttered softly. "I'm away from home all the time, and she works in your school." I patted his back once we were in the car.

"You could always get another occupation if you marry her. You have all of your degrees," I suggested. He shrugged.

"Maybe." We drove home, and for once I was happy with my father's opinion.

TBC

Mew: I dunno about you, but I still dislike Jonathan, even if he did sort of indirectly save Ryou from being raped by Mana. I bet you're all happy that they ended up not having sex. But seriously, I wouldn't do that to poor Ryou, so I suppose it was pretty predictable in the end. –shrug-

Draiku: That's exactly what you are. Predictable.

Mew: I'll get rid of you, you rude, pompous, stuck-up muse.

Draiku: I do anything you ask, Mew-sama. –bows-

Mew: Whatever. –sighs-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please R&R—your words help Mew out, seriously!


	6. Deciphering

Mew: You'll hate me for this chapter. You'll hate me oh-so much.

Draiku: -hands you a rifle- You're going to need this.

Mew: -hides-

Oh! And I forgot to say something—I'm fifteen now! I can finally start to learn how to drive! –dances-

Draiku: It'll sure be better than waiting an hour for your mom to pick us up from school…

Mew: I know! Won't it??!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns nothing of Yu-Gi-Oh because she's a worthless freshman in high school. –sobs-

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 6: Deciphering

I stayed home and slept as soon as my father and I arrived at our home. My stomach had stopped hurting, now that you-know-who was out of my mind, so I had enough energy to move around a little.

"The school rules say that you need to stay home for at least twenty-four hours after you throw up," my father was saying to me. "That means that you can stay home tomorrow. You _have_ to stay home tomorrow." I nodded and took a sip of Alka-Seltzer. It tasted like crap, but dad insisted. Angel jumped up and lied next to my leg, curling up.

"I know," I said in reply to dad's statement. "I guess I'll sleep the day then. I could probably have Marik or Malik bring over the assignments." My father glared.

"No. I won't have a pair of…homosexuals in the house," he said with a disgusted scowl. I sighed. _You already have one. What's two more?_ I thought.

"But I trust them out of everyone in the school," I insisted.

"Again, no. I won't have those two in my home," my dad sneered. "As long as they're kissing each other—maybe more—then they won't set a single foot in my house."

"Then they can come over. They broke up this morning," I said. My father blinked.

"Over what?" he asked, and smirked to himself like he had a dirty thought. I didn't exactly want to know what he was thinking either, but it probably had something to do with sodomy.

"Well, they were planning to get married in a while, but the fees for gay couples is overpriced by thousands. They can't afford it; no one can without avoiding poverty," I said.

"Tch. Fine by me," my dad said. I ignored him.

"That's why they broke up," I continued. "Marik wanted to get married right away, and Malik wanted to wait until they had enough cash." He nodded.

"Hn. Well, whatever. I'll make you something to eat," he said, and stood up. Angel meowed at him like she wanted to make sure that he didn't forget her food. He just chuckled and went downstairs. I lied in my bed for awhile, then picked up my journal. Yes, I kept it right out there in the open. I didn't have to worry about dad reading it, anyway. Yawning, I pulled out a pen and scribbled down a few details about the day—about how Marik and Malik broke up, and why they did, and my dad's probable attraction to Miss Kujaku. I pondered a moment, wondering what it would be like to have her as a mother. She was certainly more accepting than dad—and she already knew about my sexuality. Of course, she was also quite bossy. Thankfully, I was a senior in high school, so if they did get married, I'd be out of the house quickly enough.

Angel meowed at me, and I looked to her.

"What?" I asked. She nudged the pillow and I blinked, wondering what was up. To my surprise, I saw one of my porno magazines sticking out from under it. I gasped, my heart skipping a beat—or two. What if dad had seen it??! I quickly grabbed it and stuffed it under my mattress, making sure that the rest were there. They were, thankfully, so I lied back in bed.

"Thanks," I whispered to Angel. She truly was an angel—if dad had seen that, it would have been the end of me. Or he'd just blame Marik and Malik for it and pretend like I was innocent. Either way, he'd still feel differently about me. If the latter happened, he'd think about it and wonder if it belonged to me. Eventually he'd figure it out, and he'd kick me out; simple as that.

A while passed, and dad came up with a plate of food.

"You're sick, so you can eat in bed," he said with a smile. "I hope it tastes alright; I haven't cooked a full meal for a while." I nodded and thanked him, taking the food. "Call me up when you're finished so I can get your plates," he added.

"Alright." I propped up a couple pillows and leaned against them as he left. Angel sniffed at my food, but I quickly pushed her away gently. "Sorry, Angel. You can't have human food," I said with a grin. She flattened her ears at me and seemed to pout. I just chuckled and gave her a small slice of meat, so she wouldn't stay too mad at me. She chomped it up, and just as she finished, my phone rang. I quickly answered it.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Hi, Ryou. It's Malik," the voice said. I grinned, glad that he was calling, but he seemed depressed.

"Hi, Malik. What's going on?" I asked.

"I 'unno. I'm just calling to see how you're doing; I told Marik that you threw up today," he replied. I gave a mental sigh of relief. At least they were speaking with each other again.

"I'm fine. The only reason I threw up was because of what Mana almost did," I said with a shrug. My stomach lurched at the thought of it, but I quickly pushed the thoughts away. I reached for my magazines, just in case.

"What'd she do?" Malik asked curiously. I explained it to him as best as I could without projectile vomiting at the wall. He cracked up laughing, and I sighed, annoyed.

"It isn't that funny," I said in my "I'm pissed" voice.

"Whatever. I think it is," Malik said. "But I do feel sorry for you." I sweatdropped.

"You know, laughing at me doesn't exactly show that you feel sorry for me," I said dully.

"I'll make it up to you sometime. Anyway, I'm going to email your homework assignments to you, since I don't think your dad likes me," he told. I sighed with relief.

"Thanks—that would seriously help," I said.

"Sure. You don't have to do anything in the books—just read an article about 'new world' issues and summarize it," Malik told me. "And for trig, we had a review day, so nothing was graded."

"Good," I said, thankful that I didn't have much homework. "Tomorrow could you get the homework assignments for me, too? And also, leave my textbooks on the front step, so I can get them. Dad apparently doesn't want you in the house."

"Tch. I really hate your dad, Ryou. Anyway, I'll be sure to do that. See you in a couple days," he said.

"Bye." We hung up, and I got up and stretched a bit. I decided to get started on the article summary, so I went downstairs. "Is the paper down here?" I asked. "It's for a homework assignment." My dad nodded and handed it to me. I thanked him and went back upstairs to my room. Angel meowed loudly at me, and I just chuckled and petted her.

"Now what is it, Angel?" I asked. She meowed again and nudged my foot with her nose. Smiling, I picked her up and set her on the bed. She purred, curling up in my lap, and I got started on my homework.

-

The next day I was able to sleep in, and let me be the first to tell you that sleeping in on a school day is definitely an excellent feeling. I yawned and stretched sleepily, and was about to get up when suddenly my cell phone rang. I groaned and answered it.

"Ryou speaking," I said groggily.

"Ryou!" a voice whined. It was Mana. "Why weren't you at school today??! I missed you!"

"I got sick," I said, still exhausted. Damn, I wanted my coffee.

"Oh. Why?" she asked.

"I dunno. It was probably something I ate," I replied. "Well, I have to go. I have lots of work to do."

"But Ryou! We need to catch up on so many things!" So she talked and talked and talked for a few hours, while I paid no attention and decided to add up the total of my cell phone bill.

"I see," I finally said. "Well Mana, I really, really have to go." I felt close to begging now.

"Fine," she finally said. "See you tomorrow, Ryou!" I quickly hung up and groaned, lying back in bed. My dad walked into my room, carrying a cup of coffee in his hand. He handed it to me and I greedily drank it, making sure to not miss a drop.

"I thought you'd want that," he said with a laugh.

"Thanks," I said through sips.

"How're you feeling?" he asked me. I blinked, wondering why he was so talkative lately. Maybe it was because he thought Mana and I were a couple, and he believed that I really was straight now?

"Better," I replied. "That night of rest really helped." He nodded.

"Good. I have some deciphering work to do, so I'll be in my office if you need anything. Also, I found these textbooks on the front step, so I assume that one of your friends dropped them off," he said, handing me a few heavy textbooks. I nodded.

"Yeah, that'll be my homework. Well, I'll get started on that, and you can work on that deciphering thingy," I said with a laugh. He laughed as well.

"Alright." He got up and left my room while I checked over my homework. Like yesterday, the assignments weren't too hard. I guessed that Luck felt sorry for me now. I quickly got to work.

My phone rang again, and I quickly picked it up. It was Malik this time, thankfully.

"Hello?" I greeted.

"Hey, Ryou. It's Malik. I'm just making sure that you got your textbooks and everything," Malik said.

"Yes; my dad brought them in for me," I replied. "Thanks, I owe you one. So, did anything happen in school today?"

"Yeah," Malik said. He sounded quite sad. "Marik threw a pair of broken, heart-shaped glasses at me." I blinked.

"What?" I said, thoroughly confused.

"Oh yeah, you don't listen to Marilyn Manson," Malik said. "Well, basically, in one of his songs, it says that if you break my heart, I'll break your heart-shaped glasses."

"Okay," I said, still not quite following.

"Marik's basically saying that…that I broke his heart!" Malik cried, and sobbed. I gasped, sitting up slightly.

"Malik, I really don't think that…" I started.

"But that's what it means! I broke his heart, so he broke my heart-shaped glasses to tell me that I did!" he whispered. For a moment, I wondered why Malik would even own a pair of heart-shaped glasses. "What should I do??!"

"Um…apologize?" I suggested. "I think that that would be the best way to go."

"I can't face him again! And then we'll start arguing over when our wedding should be—now, or later," Malik said. "Then this whole thing would start over!"

"Then…talk it out with him?" I said dumbly.

"I already said that I can't face him—not when I've done so much to hurt him," Malik mumbled.

"Well, obviously you still love him, and I think that he still loves you, too. Otherwise you—both of you—wouldn't be so torn up over this," I said.

"I still can't. Not until I figure out how to solve the wedding problem," Malik mumbled. I nodded, though he couldn't see me.

"I understand. I still think that you should apologize, though," I said gently. He sighed.

"Well, whatever. I have homework, so I'll talk to you later, Ryou," he said.

"Alright. Bye, Malik," I replied. We hung up, and I sat back in bed to finish the work I'd started. My dad suddenly walked in, clutching something in his hand. He seemed upset, as if a family member had died. "What happened?" I asked. He held up the item in his hand, and I blinked. It looked similar to my journal, and that's probably because it was my journal. I gasped—he'd said that he had some deciphering work to do. He'd been interpreting my journal! And that meant…

"Ryou, is all of this… _true_?" he whispered, staring at me through disbelieving eyes.

All I could do was stare right back. I wanted to deny it—wanted to say that it didn't belong to me—but my mouth wouldn't move. My tongue felt glued in place, and my jaw felt like someone had cruelly taken a primitive tool and hammered my jaw until it shattered.

I was paralyzed.

"Ryou??!" my father demanded, yelling now. He was definitely upset—more than upset. For a moment, time seemed to stop. In this moment of frozen time, I wondered how he was seeing me—could he imagine horns sprouting from my forehead, or did he see me as a disgusting, despicable thing not worthy of life?

Either way, it hurt to see him look at me like that. It felt as though someone had used a blunt instrument to hit my stomach again and again.

Time started again, and I forced myself to swallow. Looking away, shame evident in my features, I opened my mouth to speak. I couldn't lie to my own father—even if he was totally against me now.

"Y-yes. It's all true," I whispered. I felt small and weak in front of him—like a mouse, or a butterfly in the face of a hungry cat. Angel dashed into the room, meowing loudly. She stood defiantly in front of my bed and hissed at my father, fluffing up her fur and snarling. At least someone in the household was standing up for me.

"What about Mana?" my father whispered.

"It was a mistake," I murmured. He probably wanted an explanation, so I made one up. "I…asked her out so you wouldn't know." I hung my head, waiting for his next words.

The period of silence seemed both deafening and never-ending.

"Leave," he hissed, pointing out my door. "Pack up what you need and go."

The words came crashing down like boulders. They crushed every bone in my body.

My mother and potential older sister were both dead. My father was disowning me. All of my grandparents were gone as well. I had no uncles or aunts on dad's or mom's side.

I had no family.

I didn't see my dad throw my journal to the floor, I didn't see him leave my room in a brisk walk. I silently got out of the bed, pulled on a fresh set of clothes, and grabbed my backpack, as well as a small drawstring bag. I put my schoolwork and textbooks, the money I had, and a few changes of clothing into my backpack. In the drawstring bag, I put in some more clothing, and a framed photo of my father and I standing together in front of the tree in the backyard. I also managed to find a picture of Angel as a kitten.

I left my journal where my dad had thrown it, not ever wanting to look at it again. I never should have let him get his hands on it—I should have hidden it when I had the chance. But it was too late now.

Angel meowed loudly at me all the way downstairs. I couldn't face her, either. I knew that she barely knew my father—or should I call him Jonathan now?—and that when he was gone, she'd be all alone. Jonathan would probably give her away to someone else. I hated the thought.

Jonathan was sitting in the living room, staring ahead at nothing. I gazed at him for a moment.

"B-bye," I mumbled. He did not say "bye" back.

I opened the front door and stepped outside. Before leaving, I locked the door, removed my house key, and dropped it into the mailbox. I didn't want to feel tempted to return.

-

For most of the rest of the day, I sat in the park and debated where to go. Should I rent an apartment and live on my own, working part-time to support myself, or maybe a friend would allow me to stay at his place?

In the end, I decided to call Marik. To put it shortly, I'd want to hang out in a place with adults—Malik's sister and brother were out-of-town, and it would feel more natural to be in a place with structure.

"Hello? This is Marik," my friend said. I smiled, glad that he picked up, even at this time. It was almost ten at night.

"Hi, Marik. It's Ryou," I said. He paused.

"What happened? You sound depressed," he commented.

"I am," I mumbled. "My dad…Jonathan kicked me out. He managed to decipher my journal." Marik gasped on the other end.

"He did??!" he exclaimed. I nodded, even if he couldn't see. "Do you need a place to stay? Because I'm sure my parents will let you stay at my house if I ask them."

"Thank you so much, Marik," I said, sighing with relief.

"No problem at all, Ryou," he said. "Let me ask them if it's alright." I waited in anticipation, and after a minute, Marik returned. "They said yes. You know my address, right?"

"Yes, I do," I said softly.

"Good. Come over, alright?" he said.

"Thanks, I really mean it," I said, sighing with relief. "I owe you so much."

"Think nothing of it. I'll see you soon, alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thank you so much," I said again.

"No problem. See you soon." We hung up, and I made my way to Marik's house.

TBC

Mew: …I…I can't believe that I just did that…-sobs-

Draiku: You idiot! HOW COULD YOU??!!

Mew: -still sobbing-

Draiku: -ranting on about how horrible Mew is-

Yoko: …Um. Well then. Thanks for reading, and please R&R! We really enjoy reading reviews, and they give Mew motivation (which she seriously needs at times)!


	7. Guest Rooms

Mew: Wheee! 'Tis chapter seven! –dances- Anyway, I'm sure you all hate me for what I did in the last chapter, but oh well. Don't dwell on the past, sheesh. –sideways glance-

Draiku: Someone's been reading too much FMA.

Mew: I seriously have. Anyway, we hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own anything in this fiction.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 7: Guest Rooms

After a long walk, I finally found Marik's home. My backpack felt considerably heavier, considering that it was full of junk from school, and several sets of clothing. I rang the doorbell, ready to collapse. It was instantly answered by Marik and his mother, both of which looked concerned.

"Ryou—there you are! I was worried that you'd been hit by a car or something," Marik said, stepping aside so I could come in.

"Sorry for calling so late," I said to Mrs. Ishtal, who quickly shook her head.

"Don't worry—we stay up rather late anyway," she said. She looked tired, though. "Come inside."

"Thank you so much for letting me stay here," I said, smiling gratefully. "I'll help out with chores, cooking, cleaning, anything you need, anytime you want."

"Never mind that," she said. "You look exhausted. Put your stuff down here and have a seat. You can use the guest room, so you won't have to share or sleep on the couch." I thanked her again as I set down my bags. "My husband is asleep right now—he has to work early in the morning."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," I said apologetically.

"It's fine, really. I work in the afternoon, anyway, so don't worry about me," she said. "Now sit down! Do you want something to drink, or eat? Did you get to eat dinner tonight?" Though I didn't feel like eating, it would be best if I did eat, or I'd just get sick again. I told her that I hadn't eaten yet, and she went into the kitchen to get me something to eat. Marik sat in one of the easy chairs, stretching slightly.

"I can't believe your dad actually did that," he said softly. I shrugged.

"I guess it's my own fault for not hiding my journal better," I murmured.

"Don't say that. It's his fault for being a jackass about it," Marik said. I chuckled weakly, and we sat in silence for a few seconds.

"Your mom's really nice," I said. He shrugged.

"I think she gets overprotective, but that's just me. My aunt, her younger sister, got kicked out too, for being a lesbian. My grandparents did let her come back, and she told mom what happened, so mom knows what you might be going through," he said. I blinked.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded. There was another pause, and I wanted to ask him how things were going with Malik, but I refrained. "So…what about your dad?" I continued. I had yet to meet Marik's father. Marik paused.

"He was a little worried about me, not because he didn't like it or anything, but he didn't want me to be made fun of and beat up," he said after a moment. "For a while he kept thinking that I was confused, like he wanted me to be straight. He finally did accept it around a month afterwards. Now my parents both go to PFLAG and GSA meetings with me." I smiled, feeling a little jealous.

"You're lucky to have such great parents," I said. Marik clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Your dad will accept you eventually," he said with an empathetic smile. "Give him time. He'll have to whether he likes it or not." I gave a short little laugh.

"Some parents never do, though," I said softly.

"Your dad's kinda smart. Like I said before, just give him time." I nodded, though still unsure. Marik's mother walked back into the living room holding a plate of sandwiches and a glass of iced tea. She handed them to me and I thanked her with a smile.

"Ryou," she said, "what's your number? I'm going to call your father and tell him where you are in case he comes looking." I mentally sighed. There was no way he would come looking for me after what he'd read in my journal. I told her, even if I knew that it would do no good. She walked over to the phone and dialed his number. The phone was on loud, so I could hear every bit of the conversation.

"Hello, Jonathan speaking," my father said.

"Hello, Jonathan. I just wanted to call and inform you that your son is staying at my home. Here's the address," she said, and told him the address. There was a long pause, and a spark of hope within me wondered if dad had learned to accept me.

"I have no son," he finally said in a cruel hiss. "I would never bring up someone like this person you're talking about." I felt myself crumbling again. He wouldn't even call me by my name. Mrs. Ishtal paused a moment.

"Well, have a good night," she said, and hung up. She turned to me. "He--."

"I know," I murmured. "I heard." Frowning, she sat next to me.

"He'll learn," she said gently.

"But when?" I replied. She paused once again.

"I wish that I could say 'soon,' but I can't be certain," she said softly.

"I know," I said again. There was a long moment of silence in which I felt like breaking down in tears. To stop myself, I slowly ate the sandwiches and drank the iced tea. My hunger set in, and I was soon finished.

"Hey, Ryou, I'll help you move your stuff into the guest room," Marik said after I'd gulped down the last bit of tea. I nodded, grateful that it wasn't so silent anymore. Marik carried my backpack and I got the drawstring bag. We walked into the guest room and began unpacking. Marik paused, staring at a blue-striped shirt of mine.

"You're going to wear this to school?" he asked. I blinked.

"Why not?" I asked.

"C'mon! Bakura talked to you because you wore all the gothic stuff," Marik said. He did have a point.

"But I don't own anything like that anymore," I said.

"You can borrow some of my stuff. The pants may be just a little baggy on you, but they'll fit like a glove if you wear a belt," he said.

"Really?" I asked, smiling slightly. I _did_ want to talk to Bakura again, even if he was with Anzu. Marik nodded.

"Sure. We'd have the same amount of laundry anyway," he said. I thanked him and he stuck my clothes into the dresser while I sat up the picture of my father on the bedside table. Marik blinked.

"You brought that?" he asked. I nodded.

"He's still my father," I said, "even if he doesn't want to be." Marik walked over and patted my back. I sighed, leaning against him and closing my eyes. It felt nice—Marik had a strong, firm chest and was just the right height. There was no denying that he was handsome, too. His touch was kind and comforting, the type that could instantly relax you. It was no wonder Malik loved him so much. Marik wrapped an arm around my shoulders and sat down on the bed with me, still comforting me.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through all this crap," he murmured, stroking my arm gently.

"Never mind that," I mumbled back, and opened my eyes to gaze at something unspecific. "I'll live. Even if he never accepts me, I'll go on with life and try to be happy. I don't need him to prevent that."

"That's the idea," Marik said with a smile. After a moment, he spoke up again, saying, "Damn, your skin is soft. What do you use?" I blinked.

"Well…if it gets dry, I just put some lotion on, but otherwise I don't do anything," I replied.

"Lucky. I wish that I didn't have to do anything to mine," Marik said. "Yours reminds me of silk or something…you know how sometimes, some things are so soft that you can barely feel them? That's what your skin feels like." I laughed a little at his description.

"Thanks." We sat there a moment longer, and Marik stood.

"Well, I won't keep you up. Go to sleep—it's late, and you had to carry that huge backpack," he said. I nodded.

"Alright. Good night, Marik," I said with a grateful smile. "Thanks again."

"No problem. G'night to you too," Marik replied, smiling back and leaving the room. He shut the door quietly and I lied back in the bed.

Three hours later, I was still awake, staring straight up at the ceiling. The bed felt odd—not uncomfortable, just strange compared to my usual bed. It was a little too soft, and the pillow felt kind of lumpy. I got up to pat it down a little, but it made little difference.

Sighing, I turned over and gazed at the glowing, red numbers on the alarm clock. All I wanted to do was sleep—now I couldn't even do that.

-

The alarm clock was my greeting the next morning. I'd fallen asleep at around four or five, and I had to wake up at six. As most of you probably know, after getting less than two hours of sleep you're already three-quarters dead.

I was about to go to my dresser when Marik burst in holding a set of clothing under his arm. He was obviously dressed and ready, so it seemed as though the clothing was for me.

"Um…good morning," I said, a little embarrassed since I was wearing only my boxers.

"Good morning to you too," Marik replied. "Now! Let's get you dressed up." I blinked.

"But…"

"Shush! You want to talk to Bakura, right?" Marik asked with a grin. I nodded, and he tossed the clothing at me. "Now get dressed; I'll be in the kitchen waiting." He left, and I was left to dress.

After guessing what went where, I left the guest room and went into the kitchen. Marik's parents were there, already eating, and Marik was at the sink getting a drink of water.

"Good morning," Marik's father said to me.

"Good morning, sir," I said, smiling. "Thanks for letting me stay at your house."

"Hey, no problem. Sit down! Have something to eat," he said. I was about to sit down when Marik walked over.

"Hey, you put the suspenders on wrong," he said, pointing at me. I blinked.

"But…this is how suspenders are supposed to go," I replied. He laughed and shook his head.

"Not with the style you're going for. Here, you put them on like this," he said, and took off the suspenders before kneeling down behind me and fixing them so they crossed each other and attached to the bottoms of my pants. "There, much better," he said with a grin, and sat at the table.

"Thanks," I said, and sat next to him.

"So, you're Ryou? Here, have some cereal," Marik's father said to me, pouring some Cheerios into a bowl for me. I thanked him and took a sip of the coffee that had conveniently been placed at my seat.

"Yes," I said with a smile. "I haven't met you before. What's your name?" I asked.

"I'm Baniti, but call me Ban. And my wife's name is Akila," he replied. (A/N: Those are traditional ancient Egyptian names, for those wondering. Otherwise it would have been Fredrick and Marlene. –cracks up-)

"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking his hand. Fred nodded.

"Same here. So, if you don't mind me asking, how's school for you?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Okay, I suppose. I'm getting good grades in most of my classes, except German, which is really hard. I probably wasn't meant to study a foreign language," I said, thinking. "Otherwise my other classes are going well."

"Good," Ban said. "And how about you, Marik?" Marik blinked and thought a moment.

"I dunno," he said with a shrug. "I think I have a B in everything." Ban blinked.

"You usually get A's, though," he said. Marik sighed.

"You know what happened between Malik and me," he said softly. "Give me a break for a few days. I'll get them back up, I promise." Ban nodded.

"Good," he said again. "You need to sort things out with Malik, although." Marik sighed again and nodded.

"I'll try," he murmured. "I can't face him, though."

"Marik, we know that he still likes you. Otherwise he would've removed you from his friends list on MySpace," Akila said. Marik blinked.

"And you know that how?" he asked. His mother chuckled.

"I have a computer, too, you know," she said.

I was envious of Marik again. If I talked to Jonathan about loving Bakura and wishing that he'd break up with Anzu and get together with me, I'd be murdered by the next day. Marik had parents he could actually talk to, though. He was more than just lucky.

"Well," Akila said, looking to Marik and I, "you two should head to school. Get there early while you can." Marik and I nodded, cleaning off our plates at the sink. We gathered up our supplies and got into Marik's car. I was glad that for once, I didn't have to walk to school. After around five minutes, we arrived at the school parking lot, and we walked inside. There was still around thirty minutes before the bell rang, so we'd have a little time to hang out.

"Did you get all your homework done last night?" Marik asked, looking to me. I nodded.

"While I was at the park, there was nothing better to do," I replied with a little shrug. Marik nodded.

"Good. But if you ever don't finish your homework, I'll give you the answers to mine," he offered. I smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Thanks, Marik, but that would be cheating," I said.

"I do it all the time," Marik said with a shrug. "You know that braniac kid? She's good to cheat off of." I sweatdropped.

"I'll remember that," I lied. Malik soon walked in and stared at me.

"How'd you get here so soon?" he asked.

"Marik gave me a ride," I replied. Malik raised an eyebrow.

"But you live across town from him," he said, obviously ignoring Marik, who sighed and pouted a bit.

"Yeah…dad kicked me out. He read my journal," I said softly. Malik gasped.

"You're kidding! That bastard!" he said, and sat next to me to put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "If you need anything, just ask."

"Thanks, but Marik's letting me stay at his place," I said with a grateful smile. I was glad that Marik and Malik were here. If they weren't, I'd still be at the park, agonizing over what to do.

"Who?" Malik said with mock confusion. I rolled my eyes. Evidently, Malik still wanted to fight with Marik.

"Mature, Malik. Very mature," Marik sneered, and scowled at his ex-boyfriend. Malik, of course, acted like he hadn't heard Marik.

"So, who were you staying with again?" Malik asked me.

"Marik. Your boyfriend," I said. "And I don't understand why you're still fighting with him. Can't you just try to agree on something?"

"Hmph. Like he'd ever listen to me," Malik growled. At least he stopped the little "amnesia" act.

"I listen to you all the fuckin' time," Marik snarled back.

"You didn't listen to my reasoning when I said that we should wait." Malik narrowed his eyes at Marik, who glared back.

"Why should I? You never listened to _my_ reasoning when I said we should do it now." I felt quite awkward, considering that I was stuck in between them. However, I didn't want to move, in fear that they'd attack each other.

"Guys, stop fighting," I pleaded. Of course, they ignored me.

"I would've listened had you listened to me," Malik replied a little smugly.

"Believe me, I tried. But you were ranting on and on about it in about three different languages," Marik said with a scowl. Malik really did know three languages—two of which he could speak fluently. Arabic, and English were his main ones, and he was in the Spanish 4 class.

"'Snot my fault that you can't understand simple Arabic," Malik sneered.

"Unlike you, Malik, I wasn't raised in Egypt. I had no need to learn Arabic like you did," Marik replied.

"_Elif air ab tizak!_" Malik said with a somewhat evil smirk. Marik paused, blinking and obviously confused. "See? You do have a need to learn Arabic now, I bet." With that said, Malik turned and walked away.

"Hey, hey! You get right back here and tell me what you just said!" Marik yelled after him. Of course, Malik ignored him quite blatantly. Marik looked to me. "Do you know what he said?" he asked.

"No idea," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Why would I know? I don't learn foreign insults in my spare time, you know." Marik groaned.

"Now I'm going to be up all night wondering what he said," he complained, just as the rest of the students came in.

"Just Google it," I replied.

"I dunno how to spell it," Marik replied.

"Then look up 'insults in Arabic' or something?" I suggested.

"Good idea," Marik said, and the bell rang. Oh, boy. I could look forward to another fun-filled day with my two fighting friends.

TBC

Mew: For those wondering what Malik said, I'm not telling. You look it up yourself.

Draiku: It means—

Mew: -claps hand over Draiku's mouth- Go Google it. I'm sure you have a Google search thingy right beside or below your address bar.

Yoko: …sheesh, if you were so concerned about people not knowing, why put it in there? Anyway, thanks for reading, and please R&R!


	8. Treasure

Mew: This chapter sets off the first (possibly out of many) main events. I'm quite happy with this story so far, and it may end up being a long one.

Draiku: Of course, this means that you readers will have to do more work just to figure out when Ryou and Bakura get together. Actually, Ryou dies.

Mew: You're probably laughing, but we're serious. He really does die. He's murdered, in fact, by Anzu. Because he's trying to steal Bakura from her.

Draiku: You still don't believe us, do you. Well, it's the truth.

Mew: …

Mew and Draiku: APRIL FOOLS!!

Yoko: …it isn't even April. –sigh-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku wishes that she owned Yu-Gi-Oh. She truly does.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 8: Treasure

Throughout the rest of the day, Marik and Malik insisted on hanging out with me to make sure that I didn't feel rejected or anything. Of course, this meant that they were constantly fighting. And of course, Malik continued throwing random insults at Marik in several different languages. I wondered if he looked up insults in his pastime.

Finally, at lunch, I said that I wasn't hungry, all so I could have a few minutes of peace. They bickered in the lunch line, and I sat alone at a table. Sighing, I rested my arms on it, and put my chin on my arms.

"You seem depressed," said a voice. I gasped in surprise and looked up, only to gasp again when I saw Bakura looking at me. He was actually concerned about me! Maybe he actually did like me, and was only dating Anzu because he was in denial about being gay or something!

However, that was very highly unlikely, and I quickly shoved away the thoughts.

"I am, a little," I replied softly. He sat across from me after setting his tray down. Oh, god. He was eating with me. Across from me, too. Just like a date. My heart went wild.

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked gently. I sighed. I didn't really want to tell him that I was gay—that might make him stop hanging out with me. Or even just looking at me altogether. So I quickly made something up.

"Well, my dad kicked me out," I said softly. Bakura, who was drinking some milk at the time, spat it out back into its container. Needless to say, seeing Bakura with white liquid on his face was something I'd imagined before.

"You're joking! Why?" he asked, after (unfortunately) wiping his face off.

"I told him that I'm an atheist. He's…very religious, so he kicked me out," I said softly. By now, Marik and Malik had sat down. They looked at me oddly, knowing that I wasn't telling the whole truth.

"You're kidding. He kicked you out because of _that_??!" Bakura said. I nodded. "Where are you staying?"

"I'm staying at Marik's place for now," I replied.

"Good. But if you weren't, I'd be more than happy to let you stay at my place," he said. I mentally smacked myself. Maybe I should've called Bakura before Marik.

"Thanks, Bakura," I said, smiling gratefully. He noticed that I had no tray in front of me.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Not really. I just don't feel like eating," I said.

"Well, you have to eat, or you'll be hungry later," Bakura pointed out. "Being hungry will distract you from your school work, and your grades will go down. Here. At least eat this." He handed me a dinner roll from his tray and I took it, even if I still didn't feel hungry. But god, Bakura was actually looking out for me. It was like he really, truly cared about me—like a best friend, or better.

I ate the roll, trying to taste Bakura's fingers on it. Okay, so my dad just kicked me out. That didn't mean that I couldn't enjoy myself, could it?

"Thanks," I said, after I'd finished.

"No problem. Don't skip lunch again," he replied.

"I won't." There was a short pause, in which Marik decided to flick some corn kernels at Malik, who glared and said something about Marik and dogs in Spanish. "So," I said, deciding to distract them from each other, "how're things with Anzu going?" Bakura shrugged and smirked slightly.

"Pretty good, actually. But…" He suddenly sighed, sounding depressed, "she's going back to Japan right after October's over." I mentally cheered, but acted sad for him.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said softly. He sighed.

"It's alright. We can still email each other and stuff," he said. "She wasn't at school today because she had an appointment somewhere. Anyway, how are things with Mana?"

"Not good," I replied, frowning. "She's…clingy. How did you know we were going out?"

"The whole school knows," Bakura replied. "She's always clutching you while you're walking in the hallway. You're lucky, though. She's hot."

"True, but she's totally obsessed with me. I don't like it," I replied. "I mean, day after day she's wanting to come over to my house or something. Plus, she's just as religious as dad."

"Ah. That could be a problem," Bakura said. "Have you considered telling her that you just want some time alone?"

"I don't want to hurt her feelings," I said. Malik chuckled bitterly.

"You're better at Marik when it comes to that," he said, finally speaking up. Marik scowled at him.

"I could say the same thing about you," he growled. I sighed, wishing that they'd just stop. Just then, the bell rang. Marik and Malik promptly left, going in opposite directions. Bakura sighed.

"They should just get back together," he muttered. "Well, see you, Ryou. Good luck with your father and all." I nodded, thanked him, and went straight to my next class. Like a few days earlier, I sat next to Malik. He unwrapped one of his famous cherry lollipops and began sucking on it, seeming agitated.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly. He nodded briskly and began nibbling on the red candy. I gasped.

Oh, god. The Apocalypse was coming. Malik had just _chewed_ on his cherry lollipop. And he was still chewing!

"What?" he asked, taking a large bite out of it.

"You _never_ bite your cherry Dumdums," I whispered in a low voice, as if it was some sacred, secret thing. Malik blinked.

"So?" he asked, and chewed on the rest. "People change."

"You're upset!" I exclaimed. "And besides, that was a habit! Habits die hard, Malik!"

"Whatever," he replied, like it was no big deal. Maybe I _should_ stop freaking out, but after he briskly munched down ten more lollipops in the same fashion, I started to get worried. I happened to know that Malik would sit for hours sorting through huge, Dumdums bags, picking out the cherry-flavored ones. He'd either throw out the rest, or give them out at Halloween, or give it to me so I could pick out the cream soda flavored ones. He spent too much time sorting to just crunch them down like that.

After class, an announcement was broadcasted across the school telling me to go to the nurse's office. I groaned. The nurse's office was slowly becoming my homeroom. I walked inside and saw Mai standing there, obviously waiting for me.

"Um, yes, Miss Mai?" I asked nervously.

"Ryou, would you mind if I went out with your father?" she asked. I blinked, and gasped. She looked a little disappointed. "Ah, damn. I knew it. Most kids probably don't want the school nurse to date their dad."

"No, no—that wasn't it. I was just…shocked," I replied. "Um…why?"

"Well," Mai replied, sitting on her desk, "he may be pretty dumb as far as homophobia goes, but he really seems like a charming man otherwise. Anyway, I can probably convince him to think otherwise for when you do decide to come out." I paused, and sighed. She eyed me. "He knows, does he."

"Yeah. He managed to decipher my journal," I replied. "I'm staying at Marik's place for now." She gasped.

"He kicked you out??!" she exclaimed. I nodded. "Why that bastard! No offense to you, Ryou, but that was one screwed up decision of his! I am _so_ rejecting him."

"Wait!" I said quickly. "I know that you probably don't want to go out with him now, but I do want him to be happy. If you do decide to go out with him, I don't mind. You're a nice person."

"Thanks, Ryou, but he definitely shouldn't have done that," she pointed out. I sighed.

"I know, but…maybe you could just go out with him once and see if you can get him to change his views?" I asked. She paused, thinking.

"Not a bad idea, actually. Because I'd totally marry him if he wasn't a lousy homophobe," she said with a grin. I just had to chuckle quietly. "Alright, it's worth a shot. But I know plenty of fundamentalists, and they're hard to change. He may not even listen to me."

"I know he'll listen to you. You should've heard him while we were driving home on the day I got sick," I replied. "So…have you asked him out, or the other way around?"

"He called me this morning, Ryou," she replied with a smile. I smiled back.

"I'm glad that dad's at least trying to date now. He always seemed so lonely," I said. She laughed.

"It'll do him good, I'm sure," she said, and ruffled my hair in a most annoying fashion. "Well, you get to class, alright? Here's a pass." She ripped a pink paper out of a whole pad of them, signed it, and handed it to me.

"Thanks, Miss Mai. For a lot of things," I said, smiling gratefully as I turned to leave. She just grinned.

"No problem, Ryou."

I headed back to class just in time for the teacher to hand out the assignment.

-

"So, what do you want to do?" Marik asked while we lounged in his living room. His parents weren't at home, and the computer was being repaired, so there really wasn't anything to do.

"I don't know," I replied softly. "Do you have any games or something?" Marik shook his head.

"Not any good ones," he said.

"What about cards?"

"We don't have a full deck."

"Then we could study for the test in Psychology on Friday," I suggested. Marik shook his head.

"I'm sick of reading about mental issues," he groaned. He suddenly grinned and snapped his fingers. "I know! Let's head over to Malik's. He has a Wii, you know!"

"Would he let you in?" I asked. Marik paused, and sighed in a huff, putting his hands behind his head.

"Then what else could we do?" he asked. "We can't go to Malik's because he hates me, the computer's broken, there's nothing to do in this place…" He was cut off when my cell phone rang. I blinked and picked it up.

"Hello?" I asked. "This is Ryou."

"OH MY GOD RYOU I HEARD THE NEWS!" screamed a girl's voice. I cringed and pulled my head away from the phone. Obviously, it was Mana.

"Um…what? Say that again—softer," I said.

"I heard that your dad kicked you out for being an atheist! Oh my God—I was so shocked! You come over to my house right now, Ryou!" she said. "I don't care if you're an atheist—you're still my Ryou and I love you!"

"It's alright, Mana. I'm staying at…my uncle's house," I said. Marik looked to me oddly, and I mouthed the words, "I'll explain in a sec." He nodded.

"Oh, good! I'm glad you had somewhere to go!" she said, sounding relieved. "But if your uncle kicks you out too, then you come to me right away!"

"I'm sure he won't, Mana. Um…why weren't you in school today?" I asked, changing the topic.

"I had to help out in a church fundraiser," she said happily. "We're earning money for homeless people! I got to work at the shelter, too!" I smiled.

"Good for you! That must've been fun," I commented.

"It really was! Some guy there was really quiet, though. He scared me!"

"Oh, I know what you mean. Some hobos—I mean, homeless people are like that," I replied.

"He wasn't homeless, he was one of the volunteers."

"Oh. Well, some people are just quiet people. I'm quiet," I said. There was a pause.

"You're right! Well, talk to you later, Ryou! See you tomorrow!" she chirped.

"Bye," I said, rolling my eyes and hanging up. Marik looked to me. "I didn't want to tell her that I was at your house because she'd probably march on over here and drag me out."

"Oh, I get it," Marik said. He eyed me closely, looking over my body. I blinked, a little embarrassed. "You know, Ryou, you have a really nice form," he commented with a smile.

"Form?" I repeated. "What form?"

"See, you aren't overly skinny or overly fat, you don't have too many muscles, your neck is slender, and your face is cute," Marik said, pointing at each feature of my body. I blinked again.

"Marik? You're acting odd," I said, though I was flattered by his comments. Suddenly, without warning, Marik leapt over to me and pinned me to the couch. I gasped, and he used the opportunity to gently kiss my lips. Surprised, I felt like pulling away, but his caress was so gentle and kind. Besides, Marik was a very handsome man—I was jealous of his features every single day. I shyly kissed back, closing my eyes. His hands trailed down my arms, and I blinked.

"Marik," I mumbled into his mouth.

"Hn?" Marik replied in a husky tone. I gently pushed him away.

"What about Malik?" I said softly. Marik blinked and sighed softly, sitting up and getting off me to move back to the other couch.

"You're right," he said. "Sorry. It's just…I miss him so much. He always would kiss me a lot, before school, during school, after school. I just…miss being kissed. I'm sorry, really."

"It's…no big deal. I guess that I'd feel the same way," I replied, patting his hand gently. Marik sighed, looking down.

"Now I'm going to feel guilty all week. Dammit, I need to control myself more." He held his head in a hand and sighed, massaging his temples.

"Even though I don't believe that you should lie to a friend, what Malik doesn't know can't hurt him," I said. Marik chuckled slightly.

"And to think I saw you as innocent up till now," he said with a grin. I just laughed as well. "So, what should we do? I'm still bored."

"Maybe we could weed the garden up front? Your mom would appreciate it," I said. Marik nodded.

"Sure, why not?" We went outside with some gloves and gardening tools, and knelt beside the garden. After a few minutes of digging, my little shovel hit something hard. I blinked.

"The ground here is way too loose," I muttered to myself, and began digging at it with my hands. Who knew what was here? It could be anything, but right then I was focused on getting it out of the way. I kept digging—it was rather large.

"What're you two doing? Gardening?" said a familiar voice. I looked up and over my shoulder to see Malik standing behind us. I nodded, while Marik glared slightly at Malik.

"Yeah. I'm just digging up this rock or something. It's getting in the way," I said. Malik nodded and squinted his eyes, looking at the object.

"You sure that's a rock? It looks more like metal to me," he said, pointing. Marik and I blinked, staring at it. Sure enough, it was shiny metal. Not rock.

"Take it out. It might be some trash or something," Marik said. I nodded and carefully dug it out, and gasped.

It was a metal suitcase!

"Woah! Let's take it inside and see what's in it," Marik said with a grin. Malik followed us inside, but Marik didn't seem to notice. We sat on the couch, me in the center, and set the case on the coffee table.

"I don't think that it's anything," I said, staring at it. "It might just be some dumb kid's 'treasure chest' that he dug there while playing pirates."

"Ryou, what kid owns a metal suitcase like this?" Malik said. "Just open it. I wanna know what's inside!" I nodded and turned it around, only to see a rusty lock. We all groaned, and Marik picked up the case. He fiddled with the lock a bit, and it suddenly broke. We grinned, despite the fact that it didn't belong to us.

Carefully, we set it back down, and opened it slowly, as though we were opening the case holding the meaning of life.

All of us took in gasps.

It was cash—tons and tons of hundred dollar bills, all stacked on each other. We could only sit and stare for a few moments. Finally, Marik reached inside and pulled out one group. He flipped through it.

"They're real," he whispered.

We all stared for a moment longer, and Malik muttered something about Allah.

"How much is in there?" Malik mumbled. Marik shrugged.

"There are twenty hundred-dollar bills per group, and one hundred groups altogether, so that makes…two hundred grand," he said. Again, we sat in silence.

"What do we do with it?" I muttered.

"Well, clearly this money is illegal," Marik said with a greedy smirk. "This kind of cash could only belong to a famous drug dealer, or someone who sells illegal weapons, or a hit man. If we turned it in to the police, then the felon would get the money back, which he got illegally." Malik grinned at Marik, and I frowned.

"You're joking. What if it isn't illegal?" I mumbled.

"Ryou, honestly. Only a criminal would bury cash in someone's garden," Malik said. I sighed. Well, it was a little obvious. "So…we keep it?" Malik looked to Marik, who nodded and gasped.

"Malik, if we split this fifty-fifty with Ryou, we could get married _and_ go to college without worrying about finances!" he exclaimed. Malik gasped as well.

"You're…you're right! You're totally right! We _can_ get married, and we'll still be able to go to college!" They stood up and threw their arms around each other tightly. I smiled, glad that they were back together once again. Marik kissed Malik's face gently and clutched his hand.

"I love you," he whispered into Malik's ear, resting his chin on Malik's shoulder. Malik smiled, stroking Marik's back.

"I love you too," he whispered back. "And I'm so sorry. I was being an asshole."

"I was too. Don't worry about it anymore, though. It's over; it's in the past. Completely gone," Marik replied with a smile. They pulled away and kissed again.

"Wait," Malik said. "Ryou, is it really okay with you if we split it fifty-fifty with you?" I shrugged.

"You guys can have it all. I have no use for it," I said, smiling at them. Marik and Malik gasped.

"You're turning down a hundred grand! Are you serious?" Marik asked. I nodded.

"You two deserve it," I said. They hugged me tightly, thanking me.

"You don't know how much this means to us, Ryou," Malik said, patting my back. I smiled.

"I know how long you two wanted to get married, and you guys just go perfectly together. Now you can have whatever sort of wedding you want, and still have enough for college," I said. Malik and Marik both kissed my cheeks and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks again," Marik said, wrapping an arm around Malik's shoulders and tugging him close. "Bakura had better go out with you, by the way." I laughed.

"I hope so too."

Marik stashed the money under the floorboards under his bed where they were perfectly hidden. He'd even filled it with old scraps of cloth to keep it from sounding hollow. Little did we know that even these precautions wouldn't stop someone from knowing we took it.

TBC

Mew: Clifffff. –grins evilly-

Draiku: Wow. That was wicked.

Mew: I'm glad that Marik and Malik are back together though. And the slight—very slight—deathshipping scene was added so those who are desperate for some shounen-ai to be happy.

Draiku: How considerate. Now hurry up and update. –jabs Mew with a stick-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, and please remember to R&R! We really appreciate your thoughts and input on the story!


	9. Splurging

Mew: I just want to give a huuuge thank-you to everyone who's read this story (and especially to those who left reviews)! My goal when I first started was five chapters, but thanks to you, there's going to be ten, and more! I promise. Just read this and you'll see. Besides, you didn't think that I'd pack the entire conclusion into one measly chapter, huh?

Draiku: I suppose that I'd better thank you all as well. –bows-

Mew: For those wondering how many chapters it will be, I can't give you an exact number. But, I'm hoping that it at least reaches fifteen, which will make this my longest story on That seems pathetic, considering that there are stories out there with 30+ chapters, but it's a big achievement for someone like me. XD Again, thanks for sticking with the story, and I'm glad you all are reading it!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns NOTHING to her name, except for her laptop. But that doesn't include Yu-Gi-Oh, unfortunately.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 9: Splurging

Malik stayed the rest of the evening, attached to Marik at the hip constantly. And I don't mean that in a perverted manner like you probably think I do. Marik's parents were pleased that they were together once again, and were glad that Malik would soon be joining the family. Of course, Marik and Malik didn't tell them about the cash they'd found.

During the weekend, I'd sometimes call home, wanting to speak to my father. Of course, as soon as he picked up, I hung up abruptly. I felt too ashamed to speak to him now. But I was glad to hear his voice every now and then.

"You still miss him?" Malik was asking me while he, Marik, and I lounged in the living room. I nodded, sighing. "I'm glad I don't have parents. I don't really have any to miss."

"I've been meaning to ask, but what really happened to your parents?" Marik said.

"Mom died a few weeks before I was born, so I was born premature," Malik replied. "The doctors managed to save me in a C-section, of course. My father killed himself soon after, and Isis and Rishid took care of me." I blinked, staring. Marik was as well.

"You never told me this," Marik stated softly.

"I didn't want you to worry or anything," Malik replied stubbornly. Marik frowned.

"I'm sorry," he said gently.

"Shush," Malik replied a little snappily. "I never knew them anyway." However, I could see in his eyes that he did miss them, even if he'd never spoken with them before. I could understand the feeling; I never knew my mom, but I wished that I could meet her every single day of my life. The same thing went for my dead older sister.

"So," I said, deciding to change the topic, "when do you two plan on getting married?" Marik and Malik both shrugged.

"Probably right after the last day of school, so the wedding doesn't conflict with it," Malik said. Marik nodded.

"I see. That makes sense," I commented. It was about nine months off, but that was good. They'd have more time to plan for it than they did originally.

"Yeah, we figured that it would be best to wait a little longer so we could decide who to invite and such," Marik said and Malik scooted next to him to cuddle.

"Hey, Marik?" Akila said, calling down from the top of the stairs. "Can you three do some weeding for me?"

"We just did that three days ago," Marik called back.

"Yeah, but you know how weeds are," she replied.

"Alright," Marik said. We walked outside and began yanking weeds out of the ground. A black car with tinted windows drove by and stopped in front of the house. I blinked, looking up and staring at it. Just looking at it gave me a bad feeling. After a few minutes, it drove away and turned the corner, disappearing. I blinked again and decided to ignore whatever was bothering me, and yanked out a dandelion at the base of its stem.

-

"Ryou, we haven't gone out since forevvvvvverrrrr," Mana complained to me one day while she clutched my arm as we walked down the hallway. I sighed with annoyance.

"Sorry, I've just been really busy since dad kicked me out," I replied. She frowned.

"Ohhh. Why'd he kick you out anyway?" she asked. I paused a moment. She already knew, so why was she asking? I guess it was just "typical blonde" behavior. (A/N: No offense to any blonds out there.)

"Um…he figured out that I'm an atheist," I said, worried for a moment that she'd give me a long speech on God and why I should be Christian.

"What's that?" she said, surprising me. Maybe her parents brainwashed her over the weekend?

"Um, an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in a higher being. So I don't believe in God, basically." She gasped, and I rolled my eyes. Here it came.

"Ryou, how could you! God _created_ you, you _have_ to believe in and love Him or you'll go to…to…" She paused, looked around, and whispered, "Hell."

"Well, whatever then." She gasped again.

"Ryou, I don't want you to go to that place! You need to come to Heaven with me so we can be together forever!" she said, tugging on my sleeve. It was very tempting to shove her away. I can't see why I didn't.

"Look, I really don't want to argue," I said softly, stopping and facing her. "I'm having a lot going through my mind right now, and I'm exhausted. Can we please stop?" She frowned.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all!" she insisted.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," I said.

"Hey, Ryou!" Mai called to me, walking out of her office and waving. "C'mere a second."

"Alright," I called back. "Well, see you later, Mana." I turned to walk off, but she stopped me and kissed me gently. She pulled away, still frowning at me.

"You know, you never kiss back," she commented before leaving briskly. I didn't quite know what to think of that, so I ignored it and went to Mai's office. She was sitting on her desk, obviously waiting for me.

"Yes?" I said, and she motioned towards a chair with her head. I sat down.

"Okay, so after school, I'm going on a date with your dad," she said. I blinked.

"Okay," I replied, wondering why she was telling me this.

"First of all, I want to know what he likes talking about," she said.

"Um…well, as far as I know, he likes talking about the ancient Egyptians, believing in God, and baseball. Dad's a huge baseball fan. But I'm not sure what else he likes talking about," I replied.

"You and your dad don't talk much, do you," Mai said.

"Well, he's at work a lot, and most of his work involves going to Egypt. But he'll be home for a few months now," I said.

"Do you ever call him?" she asked. "I mean, while he's in Egypt." I shook my head.

"I wouldn't want to make the phone bill high for long-distance calling. Plus, I don't like baseball, I'm an atheist, and I don't know much about ancient Egypt, so there wouldn't be much to talk about even if I did call. Sometimes I do call, though, just to check on him, and he calls to check up on me every week or so. But that's it," I explained. She frowned slightly.

"I see," she said quietly. "Anyway, the other reason I wanted to talk to you was because I was wondering if your dad dates much."

"Well, he hasn't dated since mom died, so no."

"So he hasn't been getting any for around eighteen years. Should I--?"

"He doesn't believe in premarital sex," I quickly replied, interrupting her.

"Damn. Because your dad is probably one of the best-looking guys I've ever seen," she said, frowning slightly. "I bet he's a real gentleman, too, unlike some of the other idiots I've dated." I shifted, a little uncomfortable.

"Right, right. Can we move on?" I asked. She laughed and ruffled my hair.

"Well, I'm done anyway. You'd better head to class, kid. Oh, and don't forget this," she said, handing me a pass. I nodded.

"Well, good luck on your date with dad, I guess," I said, smiling. She nodded and I hurried to class. Marik looked at me oddly when I sat down next to him.

"What's with you and the school nurse?" he asked in a whisper. I blinked.

"How'd you know I was there?" I replied.

"I saw you walk into her office. Why do you two talk so much? One would think that you're a couple," he said.

"Oh. She's dating my dad, and wanted to know what he likes to talk about," I replied. Marik blinked, and gasped.

"She's _dating_ him? Dear god. Are you serious?" I nodded. "Damn. That must be seriously embarrassing. Especially since she knows that you masturbate in school."

"That was only once!" I whined, a little loudly.

"Hey, you two! Shut up!" the teacher growled at us. We shut up. Marik passed a note to me, so we used that system of communication instead. Marik went on about me masturbating in the bathroom, so I eventually crumpled up the paper and threw it away. He sighed with annoyance at me. Before he could start writing another note, the bell rang, and everyone left class for lunch. Mana, unusually enough, passed right by me in the hall. I blinked, a little shaken by the fact that she wasn't clinging to me by now. It wasn't normal, but nevertheless, I enjoyed the privacy.

"Hey, nice collar," Bakura said, walking up to me. I smiled, even if I hated the damn thing on my neck.

"Thanks. Marik gave it to me," I said.

"That was nice of him," Bakura commented. "So I hear that he and Malik are back together now?" I nodded.

"Yeah. They reached an agreement about when to get married," I said.

"When's the wedding, then?" Bakura asked.

"Most likely the day after school ends."

"Hn. How will they pay for college? I heard that gay marriage is at least twice the cost of straight marriage," he said. I paused a second, wondering if I should tell him about the case of money. Deciding against it, I made something up.

"Malik's applying for a bunch of scholarships, and so is Marik. They can afford the marriage with the money they have, but they'll have scholarships to help them get through college," I said. "It'll be hard, but I'm sure they can do it." Bakura kept eyeing my neck, probably admiring the collar. I wondered if his fetish for collars was setting in, or at least I hoped it was.

"I see," he murmured, still staring through half-open eyes. I blinked. I wasn't quite used to him looking at me with—was that a hint of lust in his eyes? I blushed a little, and he blinked, shaking his head. "Well, I'd better get to lunch," he said quickly, and briskly walked past me.

"Um, Bakura? You're going in the wrong direction," I called after him. He paused.

"I have to stop at my locker."

"Your locker's this way, right?" Bakura paused again.

"I have to go to the bathroom," he said.

"The bathroom's this way, too." Was he…avoiding me? Maybe he was Christian and didn't want to be around an atheist. Then again, why would he start talking to me in the first place?

"…Right. You're right," he said, and turned around, looking a little pale. We walked to the lunchroom together, though he didn't stop at his locker _or_ the bathroom. Maybe I was right. Maybe he truly was trying to avoid me. I frowned a little, feeling rejected. But worst of all was the fact that I didn't know why he was avoiding me, so I couldn't fix whatever it was.

For the rest of the day, Bakura seemed worried and lost. I suggested that he take a break and go to the nurse's office to lie down a bit. After much persuasion, he finally took my advice and went there. Finally, school was over, and I went to Mai's office to ask if there was something wrong with him.

"I asked, and he just said that he had a lot on his mind, and that he felt faint," she replied.

"He was avoiding me, though," I said softly. She blinked, and an expression that could only be called a "Mona Lisa smile" attached itself to her face.

"I see," she said, and the expression faded. "Well, I don't know what to do about that. Just wait until he starts talking to you again."

"Alright," I said, sighing.

"Well, I gotta go. I don't want to be late to my date," she said with a wink. "See you, Ryou." I nodded and we left. Marik was waiting at his car for me, along with Malik.

"There you are. Took you long enough," he commented.

"Sorry," I replied, "I had to stop at Miss Kujaku's office for a bit."

"Ahh," Malik said, and we climbed in. I stretched, lying down in the back seat, and we drove to the mall.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, sitting up and looking around.

"Well, we figured that you need some more shirts and pants," Marik replied.

"I don't have enough money to afford it," I replied.

"I know, but Marik and I are treating with 500 dollars of the two hundred grand we found," Malik said with a wink. I gasped.

"You really don't have to! I said that you guys could keep all the money!" I said, obviously quite surprised.

"Exactly. And since you're letting us do that, we're not going to let you get away without a prize," Marik said, grinning. "Oh, and you have to spend _all_ of it." I groaned.

"You know me, guys! Seriously, you really don't need to do this!" Marik and Malik hopped out of the car and tugged me out towards the mall. Of course, we went straight to Hot Topic, as they'd planned. I continued to protest, but they ignored me. Finally, to make them happy, I bought a few items of clothing (mostly pants, since Marik's were quite loose on me), and a pair of boots to match.

"Wow, you have good taste, Ryou," Malik commented, holding up one of the boots and admiring it at the checkout. He set it back down. "Well, the total came to 499 dollars, so you still have a buck. Spend it, Ryou."

"It's only a dollar," I replied, wringing my hands. Marik pointed to a box of small paraphernalia on the counter.

"Get something from there," he said. "The money goes to keeping art and music in school." I got a keychain that looked like a tape, to keep them satisfied. Finally, we left, holding a couple of bags of merchandise.

"See, now was that so hard?" Malik asked, grinning and nudging my arm with his elbow. I had never spent that much money in one day, so yes, it had been, but strangely, it felt nice to spend so much at once. I figured that that was why girls liked to splurge.

We climbed back into the car and began driving to Marik's home.

"Aww, this'll look so adorable on you, Ryou," Malik said, smiling as he held up a collar with a small, silver skull dangling from it. "I thought that you hated collars, though."

"Bakura seems to like them, so I may as well get it," I replied with a shrug. Maybe I could learn to like collars someday. Or at least I hoped that I could. If Bakura and I did end up together, I'd want him to think I look nice. Sexy, actually.

"So what do you want to do now?" Marik asked, turning up the volume when "Animal I've Become" came on. (He'd forced me to learn all of Three Day's Grace's songs one day. By now, I'd become quite a fan of them.)

"Let's just hang out at your place," Malik replied. I nodded in agreement. Truthfully, I wanted to try on some of the clothing.

"Alright. While we're there, we should try dying Ryou's hair. I think it'd look cool," Marik said, looking like he was pondering something.

"Uh, no way," I replied. "I'm not going to dye my hair. Not in a million years."

As you can probably guess, by six that night my hair had been dyed. Every "spike", as Marik called it, had a black tip. I suppose that it did look cool, but I'd never dyed my hair before, so it was definitely an odd experience for me.

"Wonderful!" Malik said, grinning. "Now we'll just let it dry and be finished."

"Finally," I stated dully.

"Oh, come on, Ryou," Marik said with a laugh. "It looks awesome. Hey, we should go outside. It's kind of windy out, so it'll dry faster." We went outside, like he suggested, and a black car stopped in front of the house. I blinked, staring at it. Suddenly, five men jumped out of nowhere and immediately gagged and bound us. They carried us to the car, placing Marik in the front seat, and me in the back with Malik. A man wearing sunglasses and a trench coat sat in front, grinning evilly.

"Good job, boys," he said to the men who'd captured us. "Leave 'em to me. I'll take care o' this."

He drove away quickly, just below the speed limit as to not draw attention. Then he took us out in the middle of a parking lot next to a deserted store. Using the electric windows, he opened Marik's window wide enough so someone's head could fit through it. I blinked, wondering what he was doing, but I feared for the worst. Then, he shoved Marik so my friend's head was sticking out the window, and he quickly put the window back up. The opening was large enough so Marik wasn't choking, but small enough so he couldn't get out.

"MMMH!" Malik made a frantic noise, sitting forward. The man immediately pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.

"Don't say a word, kid," he growled. "Jus' do as I tell ya, and you'll live. Probably, if I'm feelin' nice. Y' see?"

This couldn't be happening.

TBC

Mew: Yet another cliffhanger. Nyahahahaha.

Draiku: Wait—what??! No! I wanna know what happens! –tugs on Mew's shirt collar-

Mew: I shall never tell! NEVER!

Draiku: -chokes Mew-

Yoko: Good going, Draiku. Now we'll never know.

Draiku: …oh. Crap.

Yoko: -sighs- Fear not, fellow readers! All you must do is leave a review, and Mew shall be resurrected! Well, not really, but it increases the chance of a quick update. –evil grin- Sooo, go ahead and R&R! …Please?


	10. Sudden Changes

Mew: Damn it. The title of this chapter is lame. Oh well. LIFE SHALL GO ON.

Draiku: Hopefully, that is. –rolls eyes-

Mew: … -sighs and shakes head at Draiku-

Draiku: …what?

Yoko: They're sleep-deprived. Sorry for all this.

Mew: Anyway, I want to give a huge, HUGE thank-you to everyone who takes time to review! Thanks to you, _Badass Boyfriend_ has over a hundred reviews! This is a HUGE achievement for me, and without you I couldn't have done it! Thanks again!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 10: Sudden Changes

"Y' see," the man with sunglasses said to Marik, Malik, and I, "I'm what you'd call a drug dealer. However, I prefer the term…eh, 'supplier to the needy.' But o' course, everything has a price on it, including drugs. Now, if I remember correctly, I left 200 grand buried in someone's garden. _Your_ garden. Now it's missing, and I think I know who took it. Y' see?" Malik glared at him. "Now, my question for you three is, where is that money?" Of course, Malik and I were gagged; we couldn't answer. He turned to Marik and made the electric window go up a bit, squeezing Marik's neck. Marik let out a cry of surprise and pain blended together.

"MMPH!" Malik said, sitting forward again. The drug dealer pointed the gun at him, silencing him.

"Tell me where it is," he said, looking to Marik again while keeping the gun on Malik. I could imagine that Marik was glaring defiantly right about now.

"I'm not going to tell you," he snarled. The drug dealer pushed the "up" button again, and squeezed Marik's neck. Marik choked a little, and I was glad that he hadn't suffocated. Malik's eyes were watering as he stared at his lover suffering, trying to breathe. Was the window really _that_ strong? Then again, this was a drug dealer we were facing. He could have had someone alter the window so it was strong enough to decapitate a human or something. Looking closely, I saw that the window was in fact sharpened at the top. This guy was insane! He'd obviously done this before, probably many times.

"You ain't gonna tell me, eh?" the dealer said, glaring. "Then I'll jus' cut off yer head with my window."

"MMNPH!" Malik exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Shut up!" the dealer yelled, glaring at Malik.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to him like that!" Marik yelled.

"And why shouldn't I?" the dealer growled.

"No one can talk to Malik like that," Marik snarled back. "No one, unless they want to answer to me." Malik gazed at Marik through worried eyes, but the dealer laughed cruelly. I was amazed that Marik was opposing someone who could kill him at any second.

"An' look what position you're in," he said with a grin. "Now, tell me where th' money is."

"Like I said before, I'm not telling you. If you hadn't insulted Malik like that, though, I may have considered giving half of it to you," Marik said with a smirk.

"You jus' want to die, do ya?" the dealer asked, giving the up button a tap. Marik snarled as it cut into his skin slightly—enough to just make a dark red mark on his neck.

"Finders keepers," he said. "Losers weepers." The oldest preschool taunt in the book. "Besides, we're going to put it to better use than you ever could."

"Oh really? Do tell," the dealer said dully.

"Well, judging from your…occupation, you'll use the money to buy cheap drugs, which you'll sell at abnormally high prices to make a profit. Malik and I, however, are using the cash to get married and go to college. Obviously, which is better?"

"Tch. Mine, o' course. It benefits me. The question here ain't what's right an' what's wrong, it's what benefits one o' us the most!" the dealer said in a growl.

"Still, though, we did find it in our property. Thus, it's ours." The dealer pressed up again, and Marik let out a yell of agony. I gasped, seeing his neck start to bleed. Oh god, the dealer was really going to kill him.

"I bet you guys don't even know who I am," he sneered. "Th' name's Smithy—Tommy Smithy." I mentally gasped. He'd been all over the news! If he said that he was going to kill you, he meant it. What more, he was on the top of the most wanted lists all over the state. (A/N: Smithy's name is just SO original. –snicker-)

"Never heard of you," Marik growled through clenched teeth. Smithy looked insulted, to say the least. He suddenly smirked.

"How about this," he stated, pointing the gun directly at Malik's head. "Tell me or your little boyfriend gets it." Malik's eyes widened, and Marik glared furiously, thrashing in his seat.

"Bastard!" he yelled, ignoring the cut in his neck. Malik looked to Marik, shaking his head. I didn't know what he meant by that, but knowing Malik, he wanted the best for Marik; not himself.

"So, you gonna talk? You got ten seconds," Smithy said. I suddenly felt something beneath my fingers. It seemed to be a switchblade—perfect. I fumbled with it, trying to get it to cut through the ropes around my wrists, but failing. Marik was looking to Malik, watching him shake his head, and staring at him through agonizing eyes. He seemed to say, "What do you want me to do?"

"Fine! The money is--," Marik started, when I pressed the switch on the knife. It made a _click_ noise, and Smithy gasped. He pointed the gun, and obviously saw the knife sticking out from behind me.

"Why you little--!" he yelled, and squeezed the trigger.

I heard a shot, and everything went black.

-

When I regained my consciousness, I was standing in front of a man—Tommy Smithy—and holding a gun. The dealer's head was bleeding a little, but he was still alive—just knocked out. I looked at the gun and saw fresh, dripping blood on its handle. Gasping, I dropped it to the ground, just as some policemen ran over. I looked around and saw a bullet hole through the roof of the car I'd recently been confined in, and wondered how I got out.

Wait—where were Marik and Malik? I frantically looked around and saw Marik lying with his head in Malik's lap, bleeding profusely from the neck. Malik was crying, holding cloth to it to try and stop it, but it wasn't helping. Marik was breathing heavily, gasping for air. Paramedics rushed over and took him into the ambulance, then drove off with him, leaving Malik alone.

"Hey, you! Did you shoot?" one of the policemen asked me. I shook my head.

"No—not at all," I quickly said. "He had us tied up in the back, and I…somehow got out here, and I was holding that gun for some reason. I don't know why, though." What the hell had happened in the past few minutes? The policeman looked to Smithy, then me, then back at Smithy.

"Lemme see your arms," he said. I nodded, holding out my arms so he could see the marks the ropes had made. He examined them. "How the hell did you get out?" I shook my head again.

"I can't remember. All I remember is him pointing the gun at my face, cursing at me, and pulling the trigger. Then…it blacks out." Malik hurried over.

"I saw everything," he said breathlessly. "I can tell you exactly what happened." The cop nodded, and Malik started. "Smithy had his gun pointed at Ryou, and he was about to shoot him for trying to escape. I kicked the gun away at the last second, and it shot the roof instead. He pointed it at me, and was about to kill me, when Ryou suddenly jumped up and snatched the gun from him. He forced Smithy out, and said that he'd kill him if he didn't do as he told him. Then, Ryou freed Marik from the window, and he untied me. After that, Smithy tried to attack him, but Ryou hit him on the head with the handle of the gun and knocked him out!" Malik turned to me. "It was so badass." I stared at him.

"I really did all that?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah! You saved our lives, Ryou!" he said, grinning.

"So that's Tommy Smithy," the policeman observed. "Well, since that's him, then that pretty much automatically makes your story true. You hit him in self-defense and didn't kill him, so there won't be a trial or anything. Plus, you saved your friends' lives. You should be proud." I beamed, feeling quite proud indeed.

"Hey, what about Marik?" Malik asked. The cop shrugged.

"He'll survive, but the cut was kind of deep. His voice box may have been damaged, and if that doesn't happen then he'll have a permanent scar," he said. Malik shuddered a little.

"I'm just glad that he'll live," he whispered, wringing his hands. I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He sighed softly, lowering his head, and a press van drove over. I blinked, and a woman rushed over to us. She talked to the cop for a few seconds, then turned to me.

"Are you the one who saved your friends from Smithy?" she asked.

"Um, yes," I replied nervously.

"Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, go ahead." The camera turned to me, and my stomach tied into knots.

"So, were you afraid?" the news lady asked. I nodded.

"Yes, very. More afraid for Malik and Marik, though," I replied. Malik smiled at me, looking grateful. She asked me a few more questions, and left. I sighed with relief.

"Thanks so much, Ryou," Malik said, smiling calmly at me. I nodded and he tugged me into a tight hug. "If you hadn't been there, imagine what would've happened. You saved us."

"No problem," I said, smiling. After a few more pictures from some more press people, we decided to head to the hospital. Marik was lying in his bed, looking bored, and wearing a bandage around his neck.

"Marik!" Malik yelled, dashing over and hugging him tightly while I took a seat in one of the chairs. Marik smiled warmly and gently hugged Malik back. "Dammit, I was so worried about you! And why aren't you saying anything? Are you okay?" Marik nodded and tugged away from Malik, picked up a notepad and pen, and scribbled something down on it. It read, "I can't talk for two weeks. Doctor's orders. If I do, I'd be working my vocal cords, and my voice would either go away altogether, or sound really bad." Malik nodded.

"Oh, I see," he said. "What if you're called on in class?" Marik shrugged. "Did you get stitches, or what?" Marik lifted the bandages on his neck to show him the stitches, and I cringed. "Ouch. That looks like it hurts. But at the same time, it looks awesome," Malik commented, and Marik put the bandages back down with a nod.

"When are you allowed to leave the hospital?" I asked. Marik wrote something down and showed it to me. It read, "Tomorrow." I nodded.

"That's good. Then you won't miss any school." Marik scribbled something down and showed it to me. This time it read, "Unfortunately." I just had to chuckle a little bit. We "talked" with Marik a little longer, and finally Marik's parents arrived. They all but obsessed over him, making sure that he was totally fine. After another hour or two, a nurse came in and announced that visiting hours were over. Much to our regret, we had to leave.

Malik and I decided to stay at the hotel across the street from the hospital, so in the morning we could go to school together. Marik's parents stayed there as well, in a different room.

"I can't wait till he can talk again," Malik said, lying back in the bed. I nodded in agreement.

"It'll be weird not being able to hear him speak for so long," I said. He nodded and stretched.

"I'm exhausted. Let's go to bed," he said, and I nodded again. Though I had no memory of knocking out Smithy, I still felt exhausted. In just a few minutes, we were both asleep.

-

The next morning at school, everyone talked to me, asking things like, "Were you scared?" and "Why'd he kidnap you guys anyway?" (we didn't mention the money to the press; we just said that he planned on holding us ransom for more money). Apparently, we'd ended up on the front page of the newspaper that morning. Knowing my dad, he was probably reading that article right now. I wondered what he was thinking.

Mana proudly latched onto me during school, bragging about how she was going out with a hero, and how the other girls weren't. It annoyed me to no end, of course.

"Ryou, there is a visitor for you in the office," the secretary said over the speaker. I blinked, wondering who it was, and went there. No one I recognized was in there waiting, so I asked the secretary who it was. She pointed at a man wearing a cowboy hat and a necklace with a cross on it. I blinked.

"Um, you wanted to see me?" I asked. He looked up at me.

"So you're Ryou, huh?" he said. I nodded. "Not exactly what I pictured, let me tell you." I sweatdropped. "You're going out with Mana, correct?" I nodded, slowly, putting two and two together.

"Are you her father?" I asked. He nodded once.

"Yes; you haven't met me before because I was working down at the ranch in Texas," he replied. Great, just what I needed. A rich, Christian, wannabe cowboy man. Now I knew why Mana was so religious. "Anyway, at first I had my doubts about you, Ryou," he continued. "But now, seeing that you saved two men from certain death, you have my respect, and you may continue dating my little girl. However, if you break her heart, I'll break you. You seem like an intelligent young man, so of course you understand. Do you, Ryou?" I nodded briskly.

"Um, yes sir. I understand," I said meekly.

"Good, good. Well, Ryou, that's all I had to tell you. G'bye." He tipped his hat and left, his boots clicking on the tiles of the hallway. Well. That had been odd, and scary at the same time. I never predicted that I'd encounter someone like him before.

"Ryou!" I looked up as I left the office, and saw Malik walking towards me. "Ms. Kujaku told me to tell you that she's moved in with your dad." I blinked, staring a long while.

"Come again?" I said. Malik sighed.

"The school nurse is living at your house," he said slowly, using elaborate hand gestures and actions to represent each word. I gasped.

"Mai's at my house??! Living there??!" I repeated. He nodded.

"That's what I just said." I raced towards the nurse's office and burst in to see her giving some kid his medication.

"Oh, hello Ryou," she said, smiling. "Everything okay? Go on, Jimmy. Here's a pass." She sent the kid off and shut the door behind him. "So, I take it Malik got the news to you?" I nodded.

"But…why so soon?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Your father proposed it. He said that he didn't want to see me living in a little apartment, like I do right now. So I went ahead and accepted—besides, he's really charming, Ryou," she said, smiling. I groaned. "What, is it that big of a deal?"

"Of course it is! I mean, you're in my house, and dad didn't even ask me about it!" I said. "Then again, knowing what he thinks of me now, he probably didn't care. Oh well. Whatever. You two do what you want." I turned to leave, but she stopped me, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"I could go back to my apartment if you'd like," she offered, smiling. I shook my head.

"Never mind. Forget all that I said. I don't have a home anymore; I shouldn't be deciding what you can or can't do at my father's house," I said softly.

"You're sure?" she asked. I nodded. "Alright. Well, get to class, alright? The bell's going to ring in a few minutes." I nodded again, and opened the door to leave. "But Ryou, remember. You always have a home, alright?" I nodded yet again, pretending to understand, and left.

-

After school, I went to Marik's house again. We mostly lounged in the living room, doing homework together. Unfortunately for Marik, he had a few speeches coming up in about a week, so he'd have to make up all of them at once as soon as his throat healed.

"Maybe Mr. H will go easy on you and excuse it. I mean, you almost died," Malik said. Marik shrugged and scrawled down, "Hopefully."

"He should, though," I said. Marik nodded in agreement when suddenly, the doorbell rang. Malik got up and answered it. He soon came back and looked to me.

"Ryou, it's your dad," he said. I gasped, staring.

"You're serious?" I asked. He nodded.

"He said that he needs to speak with you immediately." I got up and went to the front door. Sure enough, my father was there, standing in the doorway. He actually looked depressed.

"Da—Jonathan?" I said, my voice shaking as I caught myself; he didn't want to be my father, so I wouldn't call him "dad". He looked up at me, pain evident in his eyes.

"Ryou," he said softly, "I owe you an apology." I gasped, eyes widening. Was he serious? Was my father, the religious Bible-worshipping man who believed that all gays and lesbians be isolated in an island in the middle of the Pacific, actually apologizing to me?

"I saw the article in the paper today, about you saving your friends from that man," he continued. "I was so…proud of you, but I was ashamed of myself for not being there with you. I also realized that the Bible was written by a man—not God Himself. And I thought, 'What sort of god would claim that He loved everyone, yet hate someone for being in love?' I can't believe that I didn't see that before. And I'm sorry, Ryou. I'm so, so sorry."

"Y-you are?" I said, voice still shaking. He nodded, and by this time I started crying. He tugged me into a warm embrace, and I hugged him back. "So, can I call you 'dad' again?" I asked in a small voice. Apparently, this was very important to me. He nodded.

"Of course you can," he said, patting the back of my head gently.

"And, can I come home again?" He nodded again.

"Of course," he said again. A grin split my face. "Just promise one thing." I blinked, my grin fading.

"Um, what?"

"Just don't dye your hair again, alright? It looks strange on you," he said. I burst out laughing and crying at the same time.

"I'll have Marik and Malik dye it its normal color again so you won't have to care," I said, still laughing. He chuckled and patted my back.

"Good," he said. I told Marik and his family that I would be returning home, and they were, of course, happy for me. Marik's reply was, "Sheesh, finally! I was wondering when you'd leave so Malik and I could have sex." The only way I could tell that it was a joke was when he grinned at me in a somewhat goofy manner. Then he swallowed the paper whole so his parents would never figure out what he'd written. Evidently, they didn't know that he and Malik had had sex before.

I packed up my stuff from the guest room, including the photo of my father and I, and left. My father and I drove back home, and needless to say, it was probably the best day of my life.

TBC

Mew: AWWWWRR. Jonathan loves Ryou again!

Draiku: Yay! Finally. Took him long enough.

Mew: I'll say. I do wonder how he'll react to the porn under Ryou's mattress, though. –evil snicker-

Yoko: Uh-oh. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and please take time to leave a review! –grins-


	11. Mushy Talk

Mew: Eleven chapters??!! I honestly didn't think it would make it this far.

Draiku: Neither did anyone else, believe me. –rolls eyes-

Mew: -slaps Draiku-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh because she sucks. Big time.

_This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful friend, Brittany._

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 11: Mushy Talk

Angel was quite happy to see me at home again. She'd taken the liberty of guarding my room, as my father was telling me.

"She wouldn't leave at all," he said. "I finally gave up and fed her in here, if that's alright with you."

"That's fine," I said, smiling and stroking her gently. I was glad that she'd done that, though. She meowed at me, nuzzling my face.

"She…missed you a lot," my dad said, smiling at her. "And she pretty much hissed at me all day." I just had to chuckle a bit.

"It's alright, Angel. You don't have to hate him," I said, scratching her behind the ear. She just purred in reply, and I set her on the bed. "So is Mai really coming to live here?" My father nodded, smiling a little.

"Yes. I saw where she lived in town, and didn't want her to be in that area," he said.

"She's from the ghetto?" I asked. He sweatdropped.

"You could say that, yes," he said, a little sheepishly. "Well, anyway, I offered, and she said that she'd love to. So, she'll be our guest for a while."

"Are you planning on marrying her?" I asked, continuing. He paused.

"If it would be okay with you, I'd propose to her," he said. "I'm not sure if she'd marry me or not, but I have to run it past you first." I blinked, a little surprised. From what I'd heard, most parents didn't ask for their kid's opinion.

"Well, she's really nice. I'd be glad if she was my mother," I said. He sighed with relief.

"I was a bit worried that you'd say no because she's the school nurse," he said. I chuckled.

"That shouldn't make a difference at all. I don't care if she's the school nurse, I wouldn't even care if she was the principal. What matters is that you love her, right?" He smiled warmly, leaning on the door frame.

"She's an incredible person, Ryou," he said, still smiling, except in a manner that could only be described as "off in his own world". I laughed a little and sat on my bed, then saw my journal lying on my desk. I wondered what my dad had read from it, and knew that the only way of finding out was to ask.

"So…" I said, sitting back a little, "what all did your read from my, um, journal?" My dad looked up, pausing.

"Well," he said, "I figured out who you have a…" He wrinkled his nose as though trying to think of the correct word to use.

"Just say crush," I said, a little embarrassed that he'd figured that out.

"Right, I figured out that you have a crush on Bakura, then," he continued, still looking a bit confused, "and when you'd come home dressed all gothic, Marik and Malik had done it so you'd talk to Bakura."

"Yeah, that's true," I said.

"If you really want to, you can keep dressing this way, if that'll get his attention or something," he said, that confused expression _still_ on his face.

"Well, he talks to me even if I'm dressed normally, but he talks more if I'm dressed like this," I said, and added mentally, _Plus, he has a fetish for collars, so I may as well cater to that fetish and hopefully make him fall head-over-heels for me._

"Alright then. Just don't dye your hair," he said, a little sternly.

"Why are you so against hair-dying?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I tried it when I was your age. It makes a huge mess, and I'm not going to have stains all over the bathroom counter from it," he replied. I blinked, and snorted with laughter. I couldn't picture my dad with any sort of hair other than his own. He paused, staring a moment, then started laughing as well. 

Needless to say, we had some "quality father and son" time that night. We talked about mom, things in the news, our time when we were away from each other, and many other things. That night I actually got to know my dad a bit better than I once did before.

­-

"So your dad let you move back in?" Mana asked the next day while we waited after school. I nodded. "That's awesome! I'm glad for you, Ryou." She smiled, and I smiled back. Marik and Malik suddenly walked over to me, and Malik threw his arm over my shoulders with a grin.

"Hey, Ryou!" he said, grinning. "Thanks again!" He'd told me that for the rest of my life, he'd thank me at least once a day for saving his and Marik's life. "Marik says thanks too, by the way. But he can't talk right now." Mana blinked.

"Why not?" she asked.

"His neck was sliced right where his voice box is," Malik said, pointing at his neck with a hand. She cringed a little.

"Ouch," she commented. I chuckled a little. Marik just shrugged like it was no big deal at all.

"So I'm guessing you and your father are on good terms now?" Malik asked, reading from Marik's notepad. I nodded, looking to Marik; obviously, he was the one asking the question.

"Yes. He read my journal so he knows everything," I said. He scribbled something down and showed it to Malik.

"You keep a journal?" Malik read. I nodded again.

"Yeah—I like to write," I replied. Marik nodded like he understood.

"What do you keep in your journal?" Mana asked. I paused, thinking.

"Well, mostly I talk about how people try to convert me to Christianity, and how it annoys me," I said. She paused a moment.

"I see," she said. I laughed.

"Don't worry, you're not in anything bad in there," I said. Of course, that was a total, complete, shameless lie. She smiled and Bakura walked over.

"Malik, or Marik, I couldn't tell, said that you'd moved back in with your dad," he said, smiling. I nodded, actually thinking about how good he looked when he smiled. "That's good to hear."

"I'm pretty happy about it," I said, smiling back. Marik looked at his watch and showed it to Malik, who nodded.

"We'd better get home, Ryou," Malik said. "Well, see you tomorrow." They waved and left, and I waved as well.

"So how're things with you and Anzu?" I asked Bakura. He shrugged.

"Okay, I suppose. She's been pretty sad lately because she's leaving pretty soon," he said. I of course was mentally cheering, but I acted like I was empathetic.

"That sucks," I said. "How about you?"

"I'm pretty depressed about it, too," he said, taking a seat next to me. I blushed lightly, since our legs were almost touching. Of course, Mana noticed, and she immediately scooted closer to me. I wondered if she suspected my attraction to Bakura.

"Well, you'll still be able to call her and such, right?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, but it's not the same. Oh well," he said, pretending to not care all that much. I could tell that he was more upset than he seemed to be, though. He actually looked kind of cute when he was upset, which was probably a bad thing to be thinking about.

"Well," he continued, "I was wondering if I could get a ride today. My car broke down, and my parents are at work, and Anzu's at work." I smiled, though inside I was totally celebrating.

"Sure," I said, "no problem." He smiled.

"Thanks, Ryou." Mana was about to speak up, when her father's Cadillac drove up. It was white, with a set of horns attached to the very front of the vehicle. She sighed.

"Well, bye, Ryou. See you," she said. I smiled and waved as she left. Bakura and I were finally alone.

"My dad will be here soon," I said. Bakura looked to me.

"I thought that you owned your own car," he said. I shook my head.

"No, not yet. Dad says that he insists on getting me one, but he's in Egypt so much that he doesn't have any time to," I replied.

"What does he do there, anyway?"

"He's an Egyptologist; he helps interpret hieroglyphics in the tombs and such," I said. He nodded.

"So he's sort of like a translator." I nodded back.

"Yup." Finally, my dad drove up. I waved to him and walked over with Bakura.

"Hi, dad," I said. "Can Bakura get a ride today?" My dad blinked, obviously knowing who Bakura was.

"Sure," he said. "Hop on in. Oh, and Miss Kujaku is coming to our house, so you two sit in the back." I nodded, and like he said, we sat in the back.

"Nice car," Bakura commented, observing the leather seats, also known as my least favorite part of the car. They got way too hot in the summer.

"Thanks," my dad said. "So you're Bakura? Ryou's mentioned you before. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Bakura said, smiling. After a bit, Mai came and got into the front seat.

"Sorry I took so long, Jon," she said. Wait a minute—she was calling him "Jon"? They'd only dated a couple of days and they were already close enough for nicknames. My dad smiled, and she pecked him on the cheek. "Some kid was barfing all over so I had to make sure he got home alright." Bakura looked to my dad, then Mai, and finally me.

"Are they dating?" he mouthed. I nodded, and he gave me this extremely empathetic look. I just shrugged in reply. We dropped Bakura off at his house, and Mai turned around to look at me.

"So that's Bakura? Wow, I've never seen him up close. You have good taste, Ryou!" she said, grinning. The car screeched to a stop.

"You knew?" my dad exclaimed, staring at her. She nodded. "For how long?"

"She kind of figured it out on her own a week or so ago, before you knew," I answered for Mai. My father was obviously quite surprised.

"Why didn't you tell me first?" he asked.

"Well, after you did figure it out, you kicked me out," I pointed out.

"He has a point," Mai said.

"Alright, alright. Point well-taken," he said. We pulled into our driveway, and walked inside.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here, Jon," Mai said, smiling at my father. He smiled back.

"It's alright, my Mai," he said. She giggled slightly, and I rolled my eyes to myself. Could my dad get any cornier?

"Well, I'm going to go do homework," I said. "Call me for dinner." They ignored me, giggling and "mushy" talking to each other. I actually didn't have homework, much to my pleasure, so I decided to look through my copy of XY magazine to increase that amount of pleasure. What? It'd been days since I was able to look at it, you know. I settled myself in bed, flipping to a page near the middle.

"Ryou, what would you like for dinner—oh God," my dad said, suddenly walking into the room after a few minutes. I let out a small cry of surprise and grabbed a pillow to cover myself. For a moment, we could only sit there and stare at each other. "W-well," he said, turning around so I could stuff myself back into my pants.

"Um," was all I could manage in reply.

"I…I suppose that young boys need to…relieve themselves sometimes. Just…don't do it when Mai's here, she's a lady, you know. And…use a condom, it's easier to clean up if you do…ejaculate. Also…where the hell did you get that?" he said.

"Uh…gas station," I replied.

"Didn't they check your ID?" my dad asked.

"No…the guy at the gas station's also gay, and knows that somehow I was going to get my hands on some of this stuff before I was eighteen, so he figured that he may as well give it to me," I said.

"I see," he said. "Well…at least you didn't steal it, I suppose."

"Why would I steal it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He coughed, and my eyes widened. "You're joking," I said after a minute. "You _stole_ porn??!" He nodded, a little shamefully.

"I was young and curious. Anyway! What do you want for dinner?" he asked, changing the subject. I snickered a little.

"Hotdogs," I replied, and burst out laughing, unable to control myself. "With buns!" My dad rolled his eyes.

"Alright, we'll talk about it another day when Mai isn't waiting for dinner, okay?" he said. I nodded, still giggling to myself. "So, hotdogs with buns?"

"Sure, sure," I replied. He nodded and left my room, closing the door. I sighed, too hyped up and embarrassed to even look at the XY magazine, so I shoved it back under my mattress and waited for dinner.

TBC

Mew: Sorry this chapter was so short, but I sort of ran out of ideas for it, and that seemed like a good stopping point. Hah, for once it wasn't a cliff. –laughs-

Draiku: Or is it??!! –horror music-

Mew: No, it's not a cliff, believe me. –shoves Draiku into a closet- Oh, and I have another disclaimer to add:

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own XY magazine or any part of it.

Yoko: Thanks for reading, and please R&R! (Yeah, that's a real magazine.)


	12. Breakup and a New Problem

Mew: Chapter 12? Holy crap!

Draiku: I think that this'll be the only long chapter story you'll finish.

Mew: I agree with you, actually. I'm pretty proud of this story. –grin-

Draiku: Now for some shameless advertising. Hey, readers! Go and tell your friends to read this story, alright? We're counting on you!

Mew: Shut up. I don't do advertising! –glares-

Draiku: Well, now you do. –smacked-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, and she never will. Ever. But if she did, she'd make some major changes to the series.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 12: Breakup and a New Problem

Just over two weeks had passed since Mai moved in. My hair had grown out and was back to its normal, un-dyed color, and Marik could speak again. And now that he could, he was doing a lot of it. His voice was a bit deeper now, though. And yes, my hair does grow quickly. You don't need to give me that look.

"Damn, I'm so tired I could die. I'm bored too. Does anyone wanna eat something? Because I'm feeling kinda hungry. And damn, my voice is deep. I mean, before the whole incident with that idiotic drug dealer, it wasn't this deep. But now it's really deep. See? Isn't it deep? I bet I could be a bass singer in Chorus. But I'm not in Chorus, so I can't. Anyway, who wants to head to the food court right about now?" he rambled. I sighed, rolling my eyes while I inspected a few different collars in Hot Topic.

"Don't you get tired of talking?" I asked. Marik shook his head.

"No, not really," he replied.

"Your new voice sounds weird to me, though," I said.

"I like his new voice," Malik said, smiling at Marik impishly. "It's very manly and sexy." He smirked and wrapped his arms around Marik's torso, while Marik smirked back and pulled Malik closer by the waist.

"Are you two sure you're supposed to be doing that in the store? There are little kids here, you know," I said, rolling my eyes again. They ignored me. "Alright, go right ahead and don't talk to me. See if I care," I grumbled to myself.

"Aw, Ryou, we aren't ignoring you. I'm just glad that I can hear Marik's voice again. And can you blame him? He couldn't talk for two weeks, Ryou. _Two_ _weeks_. Wouldn't you just die?" Malik said.

"I guess it would suck," I commented.

"It _did_ suck. I mean, it sucked so bad that I just wanted to scream, but I couldn't, in fear that my vocal cords would die. But yeah, it totally sucked," he said. "I'm glad I can talk again, though. I mean, I got a cramp in my hand every freaking day from writing all the time. And you know what? I just remembered that I have to make up all those speeches. Dammit. I haven't memorized a bit of them, and they're all due tomorrow. I hate speeches. Why do we have to do them? I'm not going to become a freaking politician, am I? I don't think anyone would vote for me. Well, I know that you would, Malik, and maybe a few other people. But that's not enough if I want to become a real politician. You have to have like, thousands of votes to win. Otherwise you lose, and you don't get to be in office, or whatever the hell you're running for."

"Oh boy," I mumbled. "Well! I'm done looking. Shall we head out?" I proceeded to go to the cash register, holding a spiked collar in one hand. Bakura would like it, you know.

"Wait a second, I'm still looking," Malik replied, though he wasn't looking at all. He was practically groping Marik in front of two little kids, who were watching bemusedly. I wondered where their mother was, or their father.

"Guys," I said, motioning towards the kids. Marik looked up and frowned.

"Oh, fine," he said. "Come on, Malik, we'd better go." He walked over to me, but not before glaring at the kids and saying, "Party-poopers." I sighed, shaking my head and rolling my eyes.

"Are you sure you're seventeen, Marik?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am," he replied. I sighed again and paid for the collar before leaving with them. I looked at the time, and noticed that the stores were all closing.

"Should we leave? It's late," Malik said. He winked at Marik, who grinned back and nodded once. It seemed like they didn't know that I was watching, but I pretended not to notice anyway.

"Yeah, let's go," I said. We left the mall, and we got into Marik's car. He dropped me off at my place, and I walked inside just in time to see my father kneeling in front of Mai on the deck outside, and Mai replying, "Yes!"

Obviously, I'd missed something. Something _huge_.

"I love you so much," my father said to Mai, smiling and placing a ring on her finger. She smiled back, tears pooling in her eyes. They didn't seem to notice me staring, but then again, if they did, I would probably spoil a very emotional moment for them. So I sat down on the couch where they couldn't see me, and watched the show.

"I love you too," she replied, and they hugged each other tightly. Finally, they kissed gently, and came inside. My father saw me and stopped, startled.

"Ryou, I didn't hear you come home," he said. "But I have something very important to tell you—."

"I know," I said, smiling at him. "You and Mai are engaged, right?" They nodded, both ecstatically happy, obviously. I gave them a thumbs-up, grinning. "Good job. I totally approve of it." They laughed and sat on the loveseat together—fitting, wouldn't you say?—holding hands and smiling at each other. Never tell my dad that I said this, but they looked cute together.

-

Marik and Malik weren't at school the next day, even though they'd dropped me off. They were supposedly "off on family business" or something, though their expressions gave it all away. I knew _exactly_ what they were going to do.

And so I had no one to talk to, comfortably, at least. At lunch Mana forced me to sit next to her instead of with Bakura's group.

"Why do you hang out with them, anyway? They worship the devil," she whispered to me, eyeing the kids warily. I sighed with annoyance.

"That's not true. Besides, they have freedom of religion, right?" I said. "I don't care if they worship the devil."

"But my daddy said--," she replied.

"Sometimes parents are wrong," I said. "My dad was wrong when he kicked me out." She sighed.

"You're right," she mumbled. The bell rang, and I got up. "Hey, Ryou?" she said. I looked to her.

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk after school? In private?" she said, a little uncomfortably. I paused, and nodded.

"Sure," I said. "Where should we talk?"

"By my locker," she said. I nodded.

"Alright, see you there." We went our separate ways, and I awaited the final bell.

-

"What do you need to talk to me about?" I asked while we sat on the bench by her locker. She fidgeted with some fuzz on her jeans, and looked to me.

"You…don't believe in God, right?" she said. I nodded. "But…why? I mean, do you have something against Christian values?" I paused.

"Yes, you could say that, I suppose," I replied. "Actually, I don't believe in God because when I was little, I was terribly afraid of Him."

"But God loves everyone," she said. "Why'd you fear Him?"

"Well…let's just say that I don't quite meet up to Christian morality," I said with a chuckle. "So because of that, I was afraid that He'd send me to Hell. It says in the Bible that if you do something immoral, you go to Hell. So I thought that it didn't make sense. If God loves everyone, why does Hell exist?"

"The devil created it and pulls people in," Mana said.

"True, but if God is all-powerful, can't He save them?" I replied. "I figured that I shouldn't be afraid of something I wanted to believe in, so I just…stopped believing. It made the most sense to me. That way I could live however I wanted to without being afraid of suffering for eternity after I die."

"…I guess that makes sense. But I still believe in God, because I know that he loves me," she said, smiling. I smiled back.

"It's good that you have strong faith—I don't disagree with _all_ Christian principles, like I think that it is wrong to kill, for instance," I said with a smile. She looked to me, her smile fading into a neutral expression.

"I was wondering…Ryou? Are you…um…I don't really know how to say this, but…are you…do you…" she muttered. "Never mind. Forget I said anything." Yeah, this was what usually happened when someone asked what someone else's sexuality was. That's how I acted with Malik, before I was completely comfortable with my orientation.

"It's alright. I have a feeling I know what you want to ask," I said. She bit her lower lip, squinting slightly.

"Do you…like guys?" she said. I wondered how she'd figured it out.

"Why do you ask?" I replied.

"You never seem that interested in me, and if you were a normal guy you'd probably…um…well, on that day I started undressing and such, you'd…you know…a-anyway, you talk to Bakura a lot, and I've seen you blush around him. Plus, you just seem like you wouldn't like girls," she explained in a murmur. "So…do you?" I paused a second, afraid of hurting her feelings if I answered truthfully. But she already had so much evidence, it would be stupid to lie to her.

"Yeah," I replied. "I am gay. Are you…mad or anything?" She shook her head.

"No. So, you think it's good for two people of the same gender to fall in love?" she said. I nodded.

"Of course I do. If I didn't, I'd be a hypocrite," I said, forcing a chuckle. This was a pretty deep conversation, or at least a very unique one. Well, to me, at least.

"Because…" She shivered a little, holding herself. "…I think that I like girls."

"So you're gay too?" I asked. She nodded, blushing. "It's not anything to be scared or ashamed of. But I can see why you're scared."

"Will God still love me?" she whispered.

"Of course He will. Remember that a human wrote the Bible—not God Himself. So for all we know, He just loves everyone no matter what. Otherwise, everyone would be the same, right?" I said. She smiled and nodded once. "But…I have one question."

"Yeah?" she said.

"Why'd you obsess over me like you did, and why'd you try to have sex with me if I'm a guy and you like girls?" I asked. I just had to know.

"I was scared, and thought if I forced myself to like guys, I'd become straight," she said. "But…I dunno. I do think you're cute, but…not sexy or anything." She blushed heavily like she'd said something extremely dirty. "S-sorry."

"It's alright. I understand. I probably would've done the same in your position, actually," I said. She sighed, leaning on me.

"So, should we just be friends now?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, that works," I replied, smiling and putting my arm around her. She was a brave girl, coming out like this even though it totally contradicted what the Bible said. I was worried about what her father would say, though.

"Should I…should I tell my daddy?" she said. I paused.

"Well…I lied to you a few days ago, when I told you why my dad kicked me out. It wasn't for being an atheist, it was because he figured out that I'm gay," I said. "Some dads are like him, but most aren't. I've never really spoken to your father, so I'm not sure."

"I want to. I'd feel bad keeping it a secret," she said softly.

"But what if he kicks you out?" I asked.

"My real mom lives in town. I can go to her house," she said. I raised an eyebrow, looking to her. She seemed to notice. "Oh. My daddy divorced her, and got remarried to a really religious lady. Mom isn't as religious as daddy."

"That's good. She'd accept you just fine, then?" I asked, just to be sure. She nodded again.

"Yeah. She had some gay friends in high school," she muttered. I nodded.

"That's good," I said again. "Well, Mana, should we leave? My dad's picking me up, so if you need a ride, I can get you one." She smiled.

"Alright, thanks. My daddy was going to have me walk home, anyway." We left the school and saw my father waiting for me. Mana and I climbed into the back seat, and Mana thanked my dad for the ride.

"No problem," he replied. "So how are things going between you two?" he asked.

"We broke up," Mana said with a smile. My dad blinked.

"Um…why?" he asked.

"I figured out that I'm gay," Mana said. "And I already knew that Ryou was gay, too, when I saw him staring at Bakura's butt a few days ago." I blushed a little.

"Mana!" I whined.

"What? He knows you like Bakura anyway, right? Anyway, he also doesn't seem like the type to be straight," she said. "He doesn't seem like the type of guy to be on top, either," she added in a mutter. I blushed even more, as well as my dad. To my dismay, he'd heard. True, I did like bottom better (or at least I imagined so), but did she have to say that out loud?

"Yeah…I kind of figured that out, too," my father said.

"Dad!!" I whined at him. "It's one thing to figure out who I have a crush on, but another to figure out my position if I ever get laid!"

"Well, Mai and I were discussing it last night while you were asleep, and we sort of decided that you'd like the bottom position," he admitted, shifting in his seat a little.

"You were discussing what I'd do during _sex_??!" I cried. "That's not cool at all!" I groaned and leaned forward so my forehead was resting on the back of the seat in front of me.

"Is this your house, Mana?" my father asked, after a few minutes. Mana nodded.

"Yep! Thanks, sir!" she said with a grin. "See you tomorrow, Ryou!" she added, and hurried to her house.

As my father and I drove home, I childishly refused to speak to him. He had discussed my private life, after all.

"Ryou? Aren't you going to talk?" my father asked. After a few moments of me not responding, he sighed and said, "Ah. You're giving me the silent treatment. Sorry about discussing your…um…sexual position with Mai last night. I didn't realize that it would offend you so much."

"It would've been best if I hadn't known," I muttered. "Just either don't talk about it at all, or do talk about it and don't tell me you have."

"Alright," he said. We were silent for a few more minutes.

"What are you doing about your job? I mean, if you keep the job you have now, you won't be home at all," I asked.

"I'm working at the university now," he replied. "Instead of gong on-site, I'll teach students about the Egyptians and such."

"I didn't know that you could be a teacher," I said.

"I got my doctorate in Egyptology, but I minored in teaching and such. So I applied for a job there, and got it. Their previous Egyptologist quit, and they needed an immediate replacement. That's why I got the job so quickly," he said.

"That's good," I commented. Of course, this meant that I'd be under constant supervision. Or at least dad would know where I was and what I was doing. So this meant that if I did get to go out with Bakura, we wouldn't be able to go to my place to have sex or something. "Also, why didn't you pick up Mai today?"

"She had the day off. There are two school nurses, and they alternate every other week or so," he said. "I'm not too sure about the schedule, but she has it memorized."

"Ah, I see."

"Oh, I was meaning to tell you this, but I didn't know if Mana knew you were gay yet. Anyway, Mai got you something today, and wanted me to give it to you for some reason," he said, and handed me a plastic bag. I reached inside and, to my surprise, there was a Rainbow Pride shirt in it. I'd always wanted one, but I didn't have the guts to actually go out and buy one. Marik and Malik tried to get me one, but I'd politely declined by telling them that my dad would hate me. Now he was actually giving me one. The irony of it was amazing.

"Cool," was all I could say. And I actually meant it.

"You like it?" my father asked. I nodded, grinning.

"Of course I do! I've always wanted one, actually."

"Great! Mai mentioned that you'd wanted one or something. I didn't know that you'd told her," he said.

"Yeah, I did mention it to her, now that I think about it," I said. "Thanks, though. I might wear it to school in a few days."

"Why not tomorrow?" my dad asked.

"Well, Bakura doesn't know if I'm gay yet, and I'm not too sure about where he stands on the whole homosexuality thing. I'd rather be his friend than someone he hates," I replied.

"Isn't he friends with Marik and Malik, though?" I nodded.

"Yeah, but he could secretly dislike the idea of someone being gay. Plus, Marik is stronger and bigger than him, so he may just be intimidated or something," I explained.

"I think that if he's friends with those two, then he accepts gay people just fine," my father replied.

"You never know," I said.

"Actually, I think that you're just paranoid. Anyway, we're home," he said, pulling into the driveway. I climbed out of the car after slipping on my new shirt over the one I was already wearing. It probably looked weird to be wearing all this gothic, dark clothing and suddenly a Rainbow Pride shirt in the midst of it all. The neighbor, who was gardening as usual, made a point to sneer openly at my dad and I. My father glared venomously at him.

"Let it go," I said. He and I walked inside.

"Damn bastard," he muttered under his breath, sitting on the couch.

"Just ignore him," I said.

"Do you even know what that guy did once?" my father asked. I shook my head. "He's not only homophobic, but he's racist too. A black family used to live across the street from us. He managed to get them to move within a month, all by himself." I widened my eyes.

"How?"

"He called them and threatened them, threw a brick through their window, things like that," he said.

"Couldn't they call the police?" I asked, suddenly worried. He shook his head.

"They tried, but there wasn't enough evidence. I was pretty mad when that guy did all those things to them. That family was very nice. Now that I look back on it, I wish that I had done something more for them," he said, and sighed. I sighed as well. Great; another problem to deal with.

TBC

Mew: Well? Are you happy that Ryou and Mana broke up? Hmmm?

Draiku: Now all that's left is Bakura and Anzu.

Mew: -nods- Yes, they're the last ones left. And then I can work on getting Ryou and Bakura together. –sighs-

Draiku: A lotta work, huh?

Mew: -sad nod- But, it has to be done.

Yoko: -ignores Mew and Draiku- Thanks for reading, everyone! We'd appreciate it if you left a review! They make Mew feel better about her life calling.


	13. Bricks

Mew: The unlucky chapter number thirteen! And maybe the chapter itself will be unlucky. Hmmm.

Draiku: Stop giving hints.

Mew: And why not? Hmm?

Draiku: Also, stop saying "hm." It's getting on my nerves. –pouts-

Mew: Hmm. Hmm. Hmmmmmmm.

Draiku: -punches Mew-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku unfortunately doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Actually, that may be pretty fortunate for those Christian Fundamentalists out there.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 13: Bricks

"So Mana's a lesbian, huh?" Marik asked me during lunch the next day. I nodded. "I guess you lucked out then. You didn't have to dump her and get castrated by her father."

"Yeah, that's true," I said, and Malik snickered slightly. "What? He seemed like the guy to do that to someone, you know."

"I know, but I'm just imagining you waking up and discovering that your balls are missing," Malik replied. I glared slightly. "Marik, imagine that for a second."

"Alright," Marik said, and paused a moment. He chuckled, then began laughing loudly. "Damn! I'd feel so sorry for you, Ryou. But that is funny."

"Sometimes I wonder why I hang out with you two in the first place," I said with a glare. "Anyway, you won't believe what my dad got me the other day. Well, Mai bought it, but she had him give it to me."

"What'd they get you?" Malik asked. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the Rainbow Pride shirt, grinning. "Cool!" Malik said, grinning as well. "I was wondering when you were going to get one. Your dad gave it to you? That's a surprise."

"I know. I was pretty surprised, too," I said. "Of course, the neighbor saw me in it, and officially hates my family now."

"Why don't you shoot that guy?" Marik asked.

"Um…that's illegal," I replied. "Tempting, but illegal."

"I say you give in to temptation," Marik said, grinning wickedly. I laughed a little. "Besides, that's the guy who supposedly was a member of the Ku Klux Klan a year ago, right?" I blinked.

"Now that I think about it, yeah, I think that he was in the newspaper for that," I said. "Now I'm a little freaked out. What if he decides to hang me to a cross and burn me?"

"That's why you should shoot him. Better him than you, if you ask me," Malik said while I put the shirt away. "We should all come to school wearing our shirts on October 11th."

"Why October 11th?" I asked.

"That's National Coming Out day," Marik replied. "We did it last year, remember?" I nodded.

"Yeah, so did everyone else in GSA. Or if they were straight, they wore shirts with something about supporting gay couples," Malik added. "You should've joined us."

"I wasn't ready to come out back then," I replied simply. "But I'll do it this year."

"Good. Maybe we can get Mana to join us, too," Marik said.

"Her dad would kill her," I said. Marik shrugged.

"We could bring a shirt for her to wear during school, have her change into it, and have her change out of it after school," he said. "We did the same with you that one day, except you went home with the stuff."

"Oh yeah, now I remember," I said. How could I forget? Thanks to that, I'd actually gotten to talk to Bakura. After a moment, Bakura walked over to the table and sat down. He seemed depressed, actually.

"Could I sit here today?" he said.

"Sure," I said, trying not to sound too excited. I quickly calmed down. "You seem down. What's wrong?"

"It turns out Anzu's leaving sooner than I thought. She's going back to Japan in two days," he said with a sigh. Of course, this made me feel ecstatic. At the same time, though, I felt sad for Bakura. I hated seeing him so depressed like this.

"Sorry to hear that," Marik said. "But you two can always keep in touch through e-mail and things like that." Bakura nodded.

"I know. But it's just not the same." He groaned and pushed his tray away before slamming his head on the table and letting it sit there. I resisted the urge to get up and hug him gently, but he looked kind of cute when he was sad.

"I imagine it wouldn't be," I said, patting his shoulder. My hand brushed his hair, and I was surprised. I'd always thought that his hair was rather coarse, because it just looked that way. But it wasn't; it was extremely soft. I liked how it felt, and wanted to run my fingers through it.

"Hn. Could someone massage my back? It really hurts for some reason," Bakura muttered. Marik and Malik grinned a little evilly at me.

"Ryou's good at back massages," Malik said. I shook my head. There was no way they were going to make me do that! I was too embarrassed!

"Yeah, he is. Go on, Ryou," Marik said with a smirk.

"You two are complete sadists," I mouthed to them, and they just shrugged. "Alright, here, Bakura," I said, pretending not to be worried or nervous. I moved over next to him so I could reach his back easily. Carefully, and shyly, I began stroking his back and attempting to massage it. Bakura groaned a little.

"Thanks," he said, sounding grateful.

"N-no problem," I replied, forcing a smile. So, here I sat, massaging the back of the boy I loved. I was either in Heaven for how nice it felt to touch him, or I was in Hell for being so nervous. Since the good and bad were about equal, I suppose I was neutral—or still on earth, if you will.

"Yeah, right there, Ryou," he said in a husky voice. "Yes…just like that. Ah! Perfect." It sounded like he was having oral sex with me or something. Which, of course, made me even more nervous. Marik and Malik were silently giggling at me. They were probably thinking the same thing. He finally sat up and stretched a little, making a sound sort of like a combination between a gasp and a whine. It sounded pretty sensual, actually.

"Thanks," he said, smiling at me through half-open eyes. I smiled back.

"No problem," I said again. We talked a while longer, about things we hated and things we liked, and shared problems from our homework assignments. Marik and Malik always copied off of my stuff, I might add. Finally, the lunch bell rang, and we went to class.

-

While I was doing some homework in the living room that evening, something surprising happened. A brick crashed through the window, right at me. I gasped and ducked, narrowly missing it. I took cover behind the couch in case another was coming. Thankfully, there was only one. I picked it up, noticing that there was a note attached to it, and read the note.

_Die and rot in hell, faggot! God will punish you for your sins, but before that, I'll break into your house while you're asleep, cut off your dick and stuff it down your throat until you either choke or bleed to death…_

It went on like that for quite a while. My stomach churned, like I'd eaten rotten meat. My father wasn't home, so I had no one to turn to for immediate comfort. So instead, I closed the curtains on the broken window, went to the study, and sat myself in the corner. I just didn't feel comfortable being out in the open. It was a horrible feeling, to say the least. The front door suddenly opened, and I could only hope that it was my father or Mai.

"Ryou?" said my father's voice. It echoed eerily, like the house was empty. "Where are you?"

"H-here," I called back. My voice was weak and restrained. He rushed into the room.

"We saw the broken window. Mai's calling the police right now. Are you alright? Do you have any injuries?" he asked, taking my shoulders and kneeling in front of me. I shook my head and he noticed the crumpled note in my hand. He gently pried it from my fingers and read the first few bits, and dropped it. "Dear lord," he murmured, and hugged me gently.

"I'm…scared," I whimpered. I sounded like a child who had woken up from a bad dream.

"It's alright, you'll be just fine," he said softly, his hold on me tightening a bit. "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you." I closed my eyes, resting my head on his shoulder.

"The police are coming over right now," Mai said as she walked into the room. "Is Ryou okay?" My father nodded.

"He's quite shaken, though," he said, picked up the note, and handed it to her. "Take a look."

"That bastard," she hissed, crumpling the note in her fist. "I should go over there and do everything he said in this note to him!"

"We don't know who did it," my dad said. "It could've been anyone, even just some idiot teen who's playing pranks like this."

"S-sorry," I said softly. My dad and Mai both looked at me.

"For what?" my father asked gently.

"I never should've worn that shirt. I never should've even came out to anyone. Then this wouldn't have happened," I whispered. "I wish…I wish I wasn't gay. God…I just wish I was someone else right now. Anyone but me!"

"It isn't your fault," my father said. "Don't wish to be someone else, Ryou. Never wish to be someone else, because I love you for who you are."

"And so do I," Mai said, smiling at me. "I may not be your mother yet, but I'm definitely feeling like I am." I looked up, managing a weak little smile.

"Thanks," I said softly. The doorbell rang.

"That'll be the police. I'll get it," Mai said.

"Here, take this note. Maybe they can use that," my father said, handing her the piece of paper. She nodded and went to the front door. "Come on, Ryou. Let's go talk to the police, alright?" He smiled, and I nodded back. We walked into the living room to see a policeman inspecting the window.

"So did anyone here actually see the vandal?" the second policeman asked us. Dad and Mai looked to me, and I shook my head.

"I was doing my homework," I replied. "It was dark outside, and I couldn't see anyone running away or something. All I saw was the brick flying at me." The policeman nodded.

"Do you know anyone who might do this?" he asked.

"Our neighbor," my dad replied. "Just yesterday my son was wearing one of those Rainbow Pride shirts. George was outside gardening, and he saw it. He looked livid, to say the least." The policeman scribbled down a few notes.

"Anyone else?" he said. I wondered if Mana told her dad about me.

"Maybe…maybe it could be Mana's dad? Well, no…we've never really talked before, and he doesn't even know my address," I said.

"Anyone at school, perhaps?"

"I don't think so. I've only told my very close friends about my sexuality," I said.

"Alright. We'll go talk to your neighbor and see what he has to say. We'll drive by tonight to make sure everything's alright, and be sure to keep on lots of lights," he said. "Alright?" We nodded. "Okay. Call us if anything else happens." They left and went to our neighbor's house. I sighed softly.

"Let's go clean up the glass and stuff. I don't want Angel stepping in it," my father said. I nodded and I made sure that Angel was shut in my room until the glass was cleaned up. While my dad swept up the glass, Mai and I tried to find a way to cover the broken window.

"How about cardboard for now?" I suggested. She nodded.

"Yeah, that's sturdy enough. We can waterproof it with duct tape," she said. We found a piece of cardboard that was large enough to cover the hole, covered it with duct tape, and taped it over the window.

"Is your homework done?" my father asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I just finished it when the window broke," I replied. He nodded.

"Good. Then let's go to bed. It's been a long night already," he said. Mai nodded in agreement, and the three of us went upstairs together.

I didn't get any sleep at all that night.

-

School the next day was rough, not only because of past events, but because I hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Sheesh, you look exhausted," Marik commented in homeroom. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Well, I was almost hit in the head with a brick, I received my first death threat, and I didn't get any sleep at all," I replied, feeling half-dead. He raised an eyebrow.

"How'd that happen?" he asked.

"Some idiot threw a brick through the window at me. A death threat was attached to it. A very long death threat," I said.

"What'd it say?" he said.

"Something about God punishing me for my sins, cutting off my penis and shoving it down my throat, things like that," I replied.

"Sheesh, that sucks. Don't worry, though. If you're too fazed by them, they just keep coming back. But if you ignore them, they'll eventually stop," he said.

"You get death threats?" I asked.

"I used to get a bunch. Now, not so much. It's mostly just idiots who want to know if I'll suck on their dick or something," he said. I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you say if they ask you that?" I asked.

"I tell them that their dick is too small for my taste," he said, grinning. "It makes 'em livid, and actually quite amusing." I laughed a little.

"I wish I was more like you. One death threat an look at me," I said.

"Hey, it was your first one. If you get another, you'll probably be the same way, but after the third they just seem so damn ridiculous it's funny. I mean, what idiot would come into your house while your parents are home and kill you? They'd get caught. Plus, they'd go to jail and 'drop the soap bar,' if you know what I mean," he said with another grin. I laughed and folded my arms on my desk, then put my head on them. "Do you have any idea who did it?" Marik asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Our neighbor apparently hates me," I replied. "It was probably him. He drove out that black family a while ago."

"That would make sense," Marik said. "Did you call the police?" I nodded.

"They talked to the neighbor about it, to see if he did it or not," I replied.

"He'll deny it. They always do," Marik said, rolling his eyes.

"I figured that," I said with a sigh. "I just hope there's enough evidence for him to be caught."

"Was the note typed or written?" Marik asked.

"Typed," I said.

"Then there's no evidence. It's pretty easy to keep fingerprints from getting on a sheet of paper, and since it was typed, they can't see if your neighbor's handwriting matches the note's," he said. I groaned.

"I just hope he doesn't do it again," I mumbled.

"I wish I could tell you that he won't, but he most likely will," Marik said. I sighed again and closed my eyes.

"Well, wake me up when homeroom ends, alright?" I said. He nodded and I drifted into a peaceful sleep. Of course, less than a minute later, the bell rang.

"Time to go," Marik said. I sighed and gathered up my things and we headed to our next classes. "Well, see you, Ryou," he said. "Good luck with the whole death threat thing." I nodded, thanked him, and walked to my next class.

-

During my next class, something quite interesting happened. A junior came up to me, looking quite…scared?

"Um…yes?" I said, looking to him expectantly.

"S-sorry," he said in a murmur. I raised an eyebrow. Was he the one who threw the brick through the window? However, before I could ask him what he meant, he walked back to his seat. I raised an eyebrow, staring, and also wondering who he was.

After that class was over, I caught up with him in the hallway.

"Excuse me," I said, "But who are you, and why did you apologize to me?" He bit his lip, looking away, and obviously quite afraid. I honestly didn't blame him—I was actually taller than him. _Much_ taller.

"My name's Yugi," he said in a mumble. "I…I threw the brick through your window. My father told me to do it, but I don't know why." Needless to say, I was quite startled.

"Why did you listen to him?" I asked. "I mean, why _would_ you when he asks you to…to vandalize someone's property??!"

"You…probably wouldn't understand," Yugi muttered. He quickly walked away, leaving me even more confused than before.

Come to think of it, why didn't I know who he was? He was my neighbor—shouldn't I at least know his name? And wouldn't I recognize him?

Something very strange was going on here, and I didn't like it.

TBC

Mew: Sorry, I just need to vent a moment: My enter key isn't working very well, and it's annoying me. –dies-

Draiku: …I think that you saying that was rather uncalled for.

Mew: Sorry…I'm just annoyed. Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter!

Yoko: Hey, watch it, that's my line.

Mew: Oh! Sorry, yet again. Go ahead.

Yoko: Thanks for reading the chapter, everyone! We hope you enjoyed it, and please R&R!


	14. Prejudice and Debate

Mew: You know, I thought high school would be harder, and because of that I thought that updates would be less often as they were during the summer. I guess I was wrong! And believe me, I'm happy for that. –grin-

Draiku: You're happy that you were wrong?

Mew: Well, duh.

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, much to her and your disappointment.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 14: Prejudice and Debate

After school that day, I tried to see if I could see anything in Yugi's house. I couldn't—all the windows had closed curtains. Actually, the entire place looked weird. It seemed as though no one lived there at all, except for the garden, which was full of life and, well, happiness.

"So?" my father said to me while I sat in the living room with him. The two of us were alone in the house, since Mai apparently had some more work to do. "Did anything happen in school today?" I nodded.

"Some kid who says he's our neighbor confessed to throwing the brick through the window because his dad told him to," I replied. My dad blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"George has a kid?" he asked. I nodded again.

"Yeah. Apparently his name's Yugi. I'm just as surprised as you are," I said.

"Did he know why?" my dad asked. I shook my head.

"He didn't tell me why he didn't disagree to, also," I said.

"That's…odd," was all he said.

"I know. It's really confusing. I mean, why haven't we noticed Yugi at all?" I mused, sitting on the couch.

"I know what you mean. Maybe his parents are divorced—no, George has never been married," my father said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hm. Surely we would've seen him outside. They don't have a fence around their backyard."

"Maybe he locks Yugi in the basement all day and night," I said, lying down.

"Unlikely, but possible. George has quite a reputation for being sneaky and private." We continued to ponder about the mystery right next door, and made up bizarre ideas about it. Obviously, the two of us had been watching too much _Desperate Housewives_. Mai came home, and looked at us oddly while we discussed the possibility of Yugi being kidnapped and forced to do what he did.

"What are you two talking about?" she said.

"The neighbors. Apparently George has a kid," my father said. "Have you ever seen any signs of a kid or more than one person living at that house?" Mai thought a moment, then shook her head.

"No, I haven't," she said. "So what have you got so far?"

"Well…" We explained all we'd thought of to her, and how Yugi had apologized to me during school.

"I see," Mai said, once we were finished. She looked to me. "Did Yugi actually say that he was our neighbor?" I blinked and thought back.

"Um…no, he didn't," I said.

"Then how do you know that Yugi is George's kid? I'm sure that you would notice while you're going to or coming home from school, or something," she said. I paused.

"Maybe George really doesn't have a kid," my dad said. I nodded in agreement.

"Then who would have a grudge against us?" I said.

"How about you ask George if he saw anything? He's always outside," Mai suggested. My father nodded.

"Alright, I'll go," he said.

"I'll come with you," I said. We went outside and saw George planting a sapling in his yard. I wondered why he was outside during the fall, but decided not to ask questions about that.

"Excuse me, George?" my father said in a friendly tone. He looked up, glaring at us.

"What d'ya want?" he said in a rough-sounding tone.

"Well, last night our house was vandalized, and we wondered if you'd seen anyone out here," my father replied.

"I was sleepin'. Why would I be awake durin' th' night? Can't see no plants, can't see nothin'. I can't see very well enough as it is," he grumbled.

"Oh," my father said. "And…why do you seem so mad at us all the time?" he asked. George eyed him, then me, then my dad again.

"Well, if y' think it's 'cause your son's gay, you're wrong. I'm gay, too. I was mad 'cause you idiots drive a car!" he said. My dad and I blinked, for two reasons.

"Why would you be angry about that?" I asked.

"Are you kiddin'??! You're polluting the air, and ruining all my precious plants!" he said.

"Our car's a hybrid," my dad said. "I don't drive much, except to go on errands and pick up Ryou."

"Oh." George paused. "Well, it ain't powered totally by electricity or whatever, so I still don't like it."

"But…what about that black family that used to live over there?" I asked, sort of blurting something.

"If y' think I did that too, you're wrong again! I could care less about someone's skin color! I dunno who's been doin' all this stuff, but it ain't good. I'll keep a watch in case somethin' else happens, a'right?" he said. My dad chuckled a little.

"Sorry, George. We misjudged you," he said apologetically. I nodded, feeling quite guilty as well. Sheesh, I didn't even know the guy, and here I was, accusing him of racism and things like that.

"Right, right. Now, get offa my lawn. It takes forever t' mow that stuff," he said, pointing at the grass.

"Alright, sorry. And thanks, George. If you ever need anything, just call," my dad said, and waved as we walked back to our house.

"Well, that cleared a lot of things up," I said. "Sheesh, though. He obsesses over his garden."

"He does work really hard on it, though," my father said.

"He also seems like he didn't get laid enough during high school," I said. My dad looked to me sternly. "Yes, father, I'm still virgin," I said. For a moment I wondered if I'd end up like George—the grumpy, old guy with his garden and no one else. It was a depressing thought.

"So how'd it go?" Mai asked when we walked inside. We told her what he'd said, and so on. "So you were totally wrong. Of course, that means that we still have no idea who told Yugi to do that. Or _why_."

"Yeah," I said softly. "Maybe I can talk to him tomorrow and see what he says."

"Alright. Ask him where he lives, too," my dad said. I nodded, wondering how I'd bring that up to the kid.

-

At lunch, while I waited for Yugi, Malik and Marik discussed how I could get him to tell me everything.

"Well, I still think that you should threaten him," Marik said. "That way he can't turn down your questions. Blackmail him if you have to."

"Just directly approach him and ask the questions. If he doesn't want to answer, fine. Ask him again tomorrow and he'll eventually tell you," Malik insisted. I sighed.

"Well, since blackmail is just plain cruel, I'll go with Malik's choice," I said. Marik sighed with a huff, just as I saw Yugi walk by. I quickly got up and took his shoulder. He gasped, surprised, and jumped a little. Poor kid was so timid all the time.

"Um, yes?" he said, looking over his shoulder at me.

"Could I ask you a few questions?" I said. He nodded meekly. "Thank you. Where do you live, exactly?"

"On fifth street," he replied. He definitely wasn't my neighbor—I lived on twenty-fifth street.

"I see," I said. "Alright. Then…why did you go all that distance just to throw a brick through my window?"

"I had to," he said softly. "My dad told me to."

"But…why did he want you to?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I'm not too sure." I sighed. "But there's a lot of stress in my family right now; he's trying to get a job and he hasn't succeeded yet. I can't ask him about it. S-sorry."

"It's okay," I said. "I know what you mean." He nodded, and I headed back to my table. While I ate, Bakura sat down across from me, as well as Mana, who sat to my right.

"How's it going?" Marik asked, while I noted that Bakura seemed extremely upset.

"Bad," Bakura replied in a mutter. "Very bad. Anzu left this morning." I of course was thinking of throwing a party, but I acted sad and empathetic.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said gently, putting my hand on his arm and giving it a caring—or maybe loving—squeeze.

"She and I said goodbye at the airport this morning," Bakura said.

"That's why you were late today?" Malik said. Bakura nodded.

"I can't just let her leave without saying goodbye," he said. I nodded.

"I'd feel the same way." He nodded back, and looked to Mana and I.

"So I heard you two broke up?" he said. I nodded. "Why? You two made a good couple." Mana and I looked to each other, and both of us burst out laughing. Bakura raised an eyebrow at us.

"I guess that no one got the whole story," Mana said through giggles. "Actually, that's good! Wouldn't want daddy--!"

"Ssh! They"—I motioned to Bakura with my eyes—"can't know!" We kept laughing, until finally we calmed down.

"Okay," Bakura stated, "I clearly missed something. And apparently they won't tell me. Do you know, Marik? Malik?" My two tanned friends looked to each other, and then to Bakura.

"No," they said simultaneously. "They won't tell us, either." Bakura sighed, just as the bell rang, and we went to our next class with Marik and Malik. Mana had some other class, so it was just the four of us.

"Alright, class," the teacher said just as class started. "Today we'll start with partner work, and your project will be to create a civilization, some of its inventions, and make a diorama of its village." Everyone, including me, groaned. "Shut up. Anyway, I've assigned partners. Malik Ishtal and Andrew Fredrickson--."

"I object!" Malik immediately said, standing up. Marik smirked a little, and I knew that he knew exactly what was going to happen. This had happened on many occasions before—everyone in this class was used to it. And let me tell you that, however compelling Malik's words were, it got old. The teacher had to learn to stop pairing Marik and Malik with people other than each other.

"What is it now, Ishtal?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"I insist that you partner me with Marik. Now, we've gone through this at least three times before; do I need to review the reasons?" Malik said. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "You see, the classmate you paired me up with—Andrew Fredrickson—is an open homophobe. As the entire school should know, I am gay. This sort of dilemma would cause us to fight over something pointless, and never get the project done, therefore getting us a bad grade. And as you know, I get good grades in this class—As and B+s. However, I saw Andrew's GPA when he was showing everyone at lunch, and noticed that it was considerably lower than mine. In most if not all of his classes, Andrew puts off his work until the very end, or doesn't do it at all. In this so-called 'partner system', I'll end up doing all of the work while he lies around and sleeps, and possibly insults me for my sexual orientation. Now, I may want to bring up the fact that on the last partner assignment, when I was paired with Marik, we got a grade of 105 because we did all of the extra credit and worked our asses off on that. If I'm paired with Marik, I'll get a better grade because we share the work and work well together. You're the teacher, so I'll let you decide what's best for me."

As you can guess, Malik got his best grades in persuasive speeches—even when he was arguing for something he didn't agree with. However, this time he _was_ arguing for something that he agreed with, so he was at his best.

"Have you any further statements before the grand jury decides the outcome?" the teacher asked sarcastically. Malik shook his head.

"I have no further statements," he said.

"Alright. Class, please discuss the issue with one another. Ryou, you will state the verdict," she said. The class didn't even have to discuss it. I looked around and stood up. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" the teacher asked.

"Yes. We find that the Affirmative side wins this debate, and that Malik Ishtal should be partnered with Marik Ishtar," I said. Malik got up and hugged Marik like lawyers did to their clients.

"Alright. Marik, you're partners with Malik. Andrew can partner with Fred Anderson. Continuing, Lilly is partners with Hannah…" She continued to read off names until she reached mine. "And Ryou is partners with Bakura."

My heart raced. It seemed like I'd just died and gone to Heaven. I looked over to him, smiling like it wasn't that big of a deal. He just sort of nervously smiled back, and the teacher handed out the grading sheets. She gave us some time to discuss the project with each other.

"So I guess we're working together," he said. I nodded.

"Yup. This is due pretty soon, and we definitely won't finish it in school, so should we come over to each others houses and work on it?" I asked.

"Sure, I guess," Bakura said with a shrug. He seemed rather uncomfortable, like something wasn't quite right. I mentally sighed, wishing that he'd at least seem a bit happy around me. I wouldn't even mind if he faked it.

"Are you depressed about Anzu going back to her home?" I asked. He didn't react for a second.

"Hm?" he finally said.

"Are you sad about Anzu?" I said, making sure that he was listening. He briskly nodded.

"Yeah, really," he said. "Anyway, let's get to work. We have a lot to do. What should we name our civilization?" I paused. I had never been good with coming up with names—Angel Pie knew that well.

"Well…" I said. "What about…Blackfoot?" The name sounded strangely familiar, but it sounded cool, nevertheless.

"That's taken. It's a native American Indian tribe," he said. "Maybe we should combine our names. Like, my first, and your last name or something." I blushed a little.

"Okay, let's try that," I said.

"Alright." He looked at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked.

"What's your last name? I don't know it," Bakura said. I muttered my last name under my breath. "What? Speak up a little." I mumbled again.

"Ba…ra," I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, it can't be that embarrassing," he said. I finally sighed, giving up.

"Alright. My last name's 'Bakura.' Happy now?" I said. He stared at me. Now that I think about it, Marik and Malik didn't even know my last name. They'd surely make fun of me for it.

"Your last name's…Bakura?" he said. I nodded. "Ha! That's weird. But we can't call the civilization Bakura-Bakura, that's just stupid. How about…Rybaku?"

And thus, the Rybaku civilization was born.

"What's your last name, anyway?" I asked while I was designing the Rybaku civilization's symbol.

"Touzoku," he replied.

"You have a cool last name," I commented. _Ryou Touzoku…_ I thought. _Hm. It has a nice ring to it._

"Thanks. It's supposed to mean 'thief' or something in Japanese," he said. "My mom was born in Japan. I'm a quarter Japanese, fifty percent British, and a mixture of other nationalities from European countries."

"You really did your research, did you?" I said. I had no idea what ethnicity I was.

"Well, I get bored," he said. "You sound British. Does your dad talk with an accent, too?" I nodded.

"Yes. Pretty much the entire family—well, just dad and I and my aunt and her kids—speak in a British accent," I explained. "Yeah, we're definitely Britons. I think that my uncle is the only one who uses an Australian accent, but only because he lives there. Mai's getting married to dad pretty soon, so she'll be the only one in the family with an American accent."

"Who's Mai?" Bakura asked.

"Ms. Kujaku, the school nurse," I replied Bakura blinked, and snickered a little. "Oh, shush. She's really nice."

"Whatever you say," he said.

"Anyway, what should some of our civilization's rules be? Also, what should they invent?" I asked. Bakura looked to the clock.

"Well, class is almost over, so do you have a study hall?" he asked. I shook my head. My dad was forcing me to take eight classes, and not have a study hall. "Alright, then should we go over to one of our houses to work on this?"

"Yes, that would work best for today. My dad's apparently applying for a new job today so he can spend more time at home, so I don't know how long he'll be gone. Mai's at some nurse's convention in a different town, and my dad doesn't allow people over when he or another adult isn't at home, unless he knows the visitor very well," I said, talking a little fast. "So, does your house work?"

"Sure, I suppose," Bakura said. I grinned.

"Great. We'll go to your house after school, then," I said. He nodded, and I of course was ecstatic.

I was going over to Bakura's today!

TBC

Mew: I was almost going to have them go over to Ryou's house anyway, for some good ol' fashioned yaoi, but decided against it because it wouldn't make sense.

Draiku: I bet all you readers are angry at us for that.

Mew: I…hope not. –glances away-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoyed it! Please remember to R&R!


	15. Discoveries

Mew: A lot shall be revealed in this chapter, I hope.

Draiku: It better damn well should. –reads over chapter- Oh look. Bakura and Ryou get together.

Mew: That's a lie. I promise.

Draiku: No, it's not. See, scroll down a little. They have sex.

Mew: Shut up and go sit in the corner for lying to the readers.

Draiku: -grumbles and sits in the corner-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh because she's an out-of-work teenager with no life.

_Dedicated to Martha because she said so._

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 15: Discoveries

Bakura's car smelt quite nice, actually. It smelt vaguely of him, so of course it smelt nice. Either that, or it really smelled horrid, and I just didn't notice because I was going to his house, to his room, and maybe—in my wildest dreams—to his bed. With him, of course. That would be a dream come true—literally speaking.

"So when'd you get your car fixed up?" I asked, deciding to make conversation while I sat in the passenger's seat.

"A day ago," he replied. "I'm glad it's back. This car is like my child." He smiled, leaning back a bit at a stoplight. I chuckled.

"You're lucky you have a car. Mine is nonexistent," I said.

"Oh really?" he said. I nodded.

"Dad wants to get me one, but he never has the time," I replied. "I know how to drive, and occasionally I use his car, but I really want my own. It must be a good feeling to be able to go wherever you want to in a few minutes."

"It is, believe me," Bakura said, smirking a little. We pulled into his driveway. His home was relatively small in comparison to mine, but it looked cozy. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with a yell from the living room.

"Where've ya been, ya pussy??!" a male voice yelled. I jumped, quite afraid. Bakura cringed a little, but he seemed used to this.

"I was at school. I go there almost every day, dad," he replied. Dad??! Oh my god.

"Ya should just drop out. School ain't free, ya know," his dad said.

"Well, unlike you, I want a life," Bakura grumbled. I looked to him, quite surprised. I never would have guessed that his dad was like this. And where was his mom?

"What was that, faggot??!" his father yelled.

"Nothing!" Bakura yelled back. "Come on, let's go upstairs," he said to me. I nodded.

"So…that's your dad?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. Just ignore him. He's an idiot," he said. "Well, let's get to work. When's this due, again?"

"In two days," I replied. "I could make the diorama, and you could make the inventions. Or do you want to make the diorama?"

"Nah, you make the diorama. I'm pretty good at designing things," he said. "What else is required for this?" I pulled out the sheet of paper describing what we needed.

"Well, the diorama, the inventions, ten rules that aren't obvious—like you can't say that killing is illegal, since all civilizations have that—and make up a religion for it," I said. "You also have to make up a story about a character from the civilization, and put them in a situation relating to a custom or something in it. It needs to be at least a page long."

"Sheesh, that's a lot of work for two days," Bakura grumbled.

"I agree," I said, sighing. "Well, let's get the easy stuff out of the way. We already know who's making the diorama and inventions, so should we each do five rules?" He nodded.

"Yes, that works. How about I do the religion, and you write the story?" he suggested. I nodded—I enjoyed writing quite a bit.

"That'll work for me," I said. "This stuff also has to be typed. Do you have a computer?"

"Yes, but the printer's broken," Bakura replied.

"Alright, then I'll type it at my house," I said. He nodded, and we settled down to work. While we were working, I regretted coming over here. It was probably embarrassing for Bakura, based on his expression. His house was pretty messy, and smelled of cigarette smoke mixed with alcohol.

"Um…Bakura?" I asked. He looked up. "Where's your mom, if you don't mind me asking?"

"She's gone," he replied. "I dunno where she is or what happened to her. I woke up and she was just gone."

"O-oh," I said softly. "I'm…sorry to hear that."

"It's alright. I've gotten over it," he said. We kept working. Eventually, the pencil scratches made me feel nervous. It was just too quiet for comfort. Sighing, I wrote down the fifth rule, just as Bakura finished his fifth. We compared them; thankfully, all of them were different, so we wouldn't have to do any rewriting.

After three hours or so, nothing much happened. We finished all the written part of the work, including the religion and story for the project.

"Finally," Bakura said. "We're practically half-done. Should we do the rest tomorrow at your place?" he asked.

"Sure, why not?" I replied. "I have a lot of clay and such at home for the diorama, and I'm sure dad would let you use some of his building supplies for the inventions."

"Great." Bakura grinned. "I'll get started on designing the inventions, since I don't have any wood or metal here to work with. It would help a lot if you could start the diorama tonight."

"Then I will start it today," I said with a smile.

"Good. Come on, I'll give you a ride to your house," he said. I nodded and we headed outside. I peered into the living room and saw Bakura's father passed out on the couch, snoring peacefully. Something about the man just felt…bad. I quickly passed by, pretending not to notice him, and we got into Bakura's car. From there, we drove home, occasionally chatting a bit, and Bakura pulled up to my house. I waved goodbye and hurried inside to see my dad sitting on the couch, doing the crossword. The first thing I did was go over to him and give him a big hug. Needless to say, he seemed confused.

"Ryou?" he said, patting my arm. "Are you alright? You don't normally do this."

"You don't know how thankful I am for you," I muttered. "Thanks for being my dad and not someone else." He smiled and I pulled away.

"Why are you suddenly saying this?" he asked, and I sat in the loveseat.

"I just saw how some dads are and realized how great you are," I replied. There was Mana's father, who almost never spent any quality time with his daughter, Bakura's father, who could care less about his son, and Malik's father, who wasn't really a bad father, but he just wasn't there.

"Well, thanks," he said. "So, how's the project with Bakura going?"

"Great! We're more than half-way finished," I replied. "All we have to do is build two inventions that our civilization uses, and do the diorama. It should be simple enough. Anyway, he's coming over tomorrow to work on it." My dad nodded.

"Alright. Can I just tell you one thing about that, though?" he said. I nodded.

"Sure, what?" I asked.

"If you two go into your room, please keep the door open," he said. I blushed heavily.

"Dad! We aren't even going out! He doesn't even know that I'm gay!" I whined.

"Still…" he mumbled, drawling out the word. "I just want to be assured that you won't do that until much later. I was a high school-age boy too, you know." I sighed, slumping in my seat, and pouted a little.

"That was in the sixties," I grumbled.

"No, it was in the eighties," my dad replied.

"Still, that was about twenty years away," I said.

"That still doesn't mean that you don't live in my house," he said. "I don't mind if you look at those magazines, as long as you do it in private and Mai's not around, but you just can't have sex." I gave him the look.

"Needless to say, I'm surprised that you're actually letting your son look at pornography," I commented.

"Well, I can't really stop it, can I? There's the gas station, the internet, the adult book store, and many other places. At least you're not actually having sex," he said. Now it was his turn to give _me_ the look. "You haven't been having sex, have you?"

"Of course not! I'm one-hundred percent virgin!" I replied quickly. _Sadly,_ I added as an afterthought.

"Good," he said, and picked up the newspaper and began reading it.

"Well," I said, standing, "I have to get to work on that diorama. Do we have any clay or something?" He nodded.

"Yeah, I think it's in the junk drawer. Check there," he said. I nodded and went to the kitchen to get to work.

-

The next day at school, I saw Bakura walking through the hall. Oddly, he was wearing a bit of makeup on his face. It did make him look nice, though.

"Hn," Marik said during lunch while he and Malik observed Bakura. "He's walking with a limp." I blinked. How had I not noticed that? It was pretty obvious, now that Marik pointed it out to me.

"I wonder what happened," I mumbled.

"He probably tripped," Malik said. I nodded. It was definitely the most likely thing to have happened. Suddenly, we heard people cheering from across the lunchroom. Marik, Malik, and I looked over our shoulders to see Mana standing next to a girl named Shizuka, who stared at her with wide eyes. On Shizuka's left cheek was a smudge of lipstick shaped like lips, and Mana was wearing lipstick today. I'd seen those two hang out a lot—I guess that I hadn't actually, truly noticed her until now.

"Shizuka?" Mana said softly. "I…will you go out with me?" Shizuka's face split into a grin and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Of—of course I will!" she said. Wow. That had been quick. Then again, I'd always seen _something_ in Shizuka's eyes whenever she hung out with Mana. If you could compare it to something rather common, it was your best friend and his or her boyfriend or girlfriend when they looked at each other. You know, the two that were just meant to be? That's what Mana and Shizuka had.

After Shizuka had replied to Mana's question, almost the entire lunchroom applauded. Either they were truly happy for them, or they were perverts who enjoyed watching two girls kiss. Shizuka kissed Mana gently, and they hurried over to our table to avoid the crowds.

"Congrats!" Marik said, grinning at them. Mana giggled, obviously quite happy.

"Thank you!" she replied. "Anyway, Shizuka? Did you meet my friends yet?" Shizuka shook her head.

"No, I didn't, actually," she said, sounding a little shy. She was probably more introverted than I was.

"This is Ryou, Marik, and Malik. I used to date Ryou, but that was before I figured out that I'm gay, and that he's gay, too," Mana said.

"Oh, I see. So you're the one I was jealous of," Shizuka said, laughing a little. I laughed as well.

"I know the feeling," I said. "So you two will be going out now?" They nodded. I was glad that they were so happy, but at the same time I felt left out. Now I was the only one in our little group without a boyfriend or girlfriend. The feeling was quite depressing.

"Hey, Ryou," Bakura said, sitting at the table and smiling. I smiled back, of course. "Can we talk about the project?" I nodded.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" I asked, resting my arms on the table.

"Well, I was thinking about the inventions all day, but I can't come up with anything pretty unique. Do you have any ideas for it?" he asked. I paused, thinking.

"What about something totally impractical, but can still be useful?" I suggested.

"That's what I was thinking, too," he replied. "I watched the Simpsons last night and saw that there was an electric hammer. Do you think we'll get a low grade if I use that idea?"

"I doubt it. We'll go with that. How about an automatic toilet paper dispenser? There're already automatic paper towel dispensers, so maybe that?" I said.

"I wouldn't know how to build one," he said, frowning a bit.

"Then maybe something not useful, but something artistic? Like a musical instrument or something," I said. He nodded.

"That could work. It would be pretty easy to make, too." He took a sip from his milk, and noticed me admiring his face. He smirked a little. "Ah, you noticed my makeup?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. You don't normally use it," I said. "Well, except eyeliner, but still. So, why are you wearing it today?" I asked.

"Eh, just needed a change," he replied. I nodded.

"It looks good," I said. He paused a moment, looking at me with somewhat surprised eyes, and I wondered if he had discovered my crush on him.

"Thanks," he said. "So! Your house after school?" I nodded.

"Yep. Oh, and do you have to be home by any time?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Nah. Dad doesn't care much," he said, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"Oh, I see," I said, pretending not to notice. We chatted throughout the rest of lunchtime about the project and other things, until the bell finally rang.

-

"Sheesh. You have an awesome house," Bakura said while we walked inside.

"Thanks," I replied. "Anyway, let's get to work. Did you get any ideas for that musical instrument thing?" He nodded.

"Yup. I'll start building it. Where are the tools?" he said.

"I think they're in the garage. I'll go look," I said. "I think that there's some coffee made in the kitchen. You can have some, if you want."

"Alright, thanks," he said and smiled. I smiled back and hurried to the garage, where I grabbed the toolbox. I returned to the kitchen to see Bakura sipping coffee and admiring what I had done with the diorama.

"You're pretty good with clay," he said, setting his mug down.

"Thanks. I used to play with Play-Doh when I was a kid, so I probably learned to from that. Anyway, here are the tools," I said, and set them down on the table. He thanked me and quickly got to work, taking out a few boards of wood he had stashed in his backpack, while I painted a small figure of a man worshipping the deities we'd created. After an hour of work, my dad came home, along with Mai.

"Man, I'm exhausted. We should've just stayed at the hotel," my dad was saying. I blinked, looking up, and wondered what the hell they were talking about.

"I know what you mean," Mai replied with a giggle. "Well?"

"You were simply amazing," my dad replied in a somewhat breathy tone. My jaw dropped.

"You were, too. I thought that you didn't believe in premarital sex, though," Mai said. A blush covered my face, and now Bakura noticed. He stared at me with wide eyes, and I just held my head in my hands, embarrassed out of my wits.

"Well, that's what I tell Ryou. Speaking of him, is he home?" my dad said.

"Yes, I'm home!" I yelled in a somewhat whiny tone. My dad and Mai gasped.

"Oh. Well, you didn't hear anything, right?" my dad asked, a little nervously.

"I heard _everything_!"

"Crap. Well, it's only you, right?" Mai asked.

"No, Bakura's here, too! We were working on our project until you two came in and--!" I whined. They gasped again.

"I guess that we'll have to be quieter," Mai whispered.

"Yes, and we'll have to make sure Ryou—or his friends—isn't home," my dad murmured. I groaned and let my head hit the table, squishing the head of one of my potential figurines with my forehead.

"Sorry you had to hear all that," I mumbled.

"Um…" Bakura said, obviously trying to comfort me or something, "don't worry about it. I hear it all the time at home. Except with different women each time. So I'm used to it." I was somehow disturbed and relieved at the same time.

"O-okay," I said.

"Well, I'm finished with the automatic hammer," Bakura said, setting it down and thankfully changing the subject. "So I'll get started on that instrument."

"Alright. I'm almost done with the diorama," I replied, sitting up. The clay was still squished on my forehead, of course, but I didn't notice. "I just have to put in some flora and fauna." Bakura stifled a laugh and removed the clay from my head. I laughed a little, and put it on the table while he dug through the toolbox. One of his eyebrows went up, and he took a white piece of paper from the toolbox. He read over it, and handed it to me.

"Um, what's this?" he asked. I blinked and read it.

_You bastard, stealing my job from me! I'll kill you, Jonathan, I'll slice your tongue into little pieces and feed them to you! I'll cut off each of your fingers and stuff them up your ass!..._

Again, it continued on like that for quite some time. But this time I knew—the death threats weren't directed at me.

They were directed at my father.

TBC

Mew: It isn't _technically_ a cliff. But some might consider it to be one.

Draiku: You're evil with your cliffs and hills.

Mew: "Hills"?

Draiku: Little cliffs. DUH.

Mew: -sighs-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! As usual, please take some time to R&R! We really appreciate it!


	16. Sullivan

Mew: Yeah, you'll want to murder me for this chapter.

Draiku: -hands out various weapons-

Mew: -runs and hides in the corner-

Draiku: Do whatever you want to her after reading this. –evil smirk-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, much to her displeasure.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 16: Sullivan

After Bakura and I finished the diorama and instrument together, he drove home, and I sat in the living room, clutching the piece of paper. I'd asked Bakura not to tell anyone of it, and that it was just a joke the neighbors around here played on each other. He said that we had weird neighbors, of course.

Dad was in the kitchen, making tomorrow's coffee, and Mai was sitting in the living room with me. She hadn't seen the new death threat yet.

"What's that, Ryou?" she asked. I shivered a little and sighed.

"It's another note," I mumbled. She gasped, and called for Jonathan. He came out of the kitchen, drying water off his hands.

"What's wrong?" he asked. I handed him the note, and he read over it. With each passing second, his eyes grew wider, and his skin grew paler. Finally, he dropped it, and it fluttered to the floor like a dead leaf.

"Where…where did you find this?" he whispered.

"Your tool box," I replied. "Bakura found it, but I told him not to tell anyone. I…I think that the last one was for you, too." He sat down on the easy chair, actually sort of falling into it, while Mai read over the note.

"Did you get a new job recently?" she asked. He nodded.

"I quit my old job as an Egyptologist, so I could spend more time at home with you and Ryou. I just got a job as a professor at the college in town, and it was quite competitive. There were several others looking for the job, but I think I was chosen over them because I'd been to Egypt so much, and I had translated so many more scriptures," he explained. I sat up a bit.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"I didn't get the results until today, but I got a little sidetracked from informing you two," he said softly. "The person who wrote that note must've been one of the other people looking for the job." I nodded.

"That would only make sense," I said.

"Do you know Yugi's last name?" my dad asked. I shook my head.

"If he did tell me, I can't remember," I said. "Mai? Have you ever had him in your office before?" She nodded.

"Once or twice, yes, but it was just for little things, like jamming his finger in Phys. Ed, or getting a paper cut. I never got the chance to learn his last name," she replied. I nodded.

"I'll try to get his full name tomorrow, and I'll ask him what's going on that could make this such a big deal," I said. My dad nodded.

"Alright, thank you," he said, and massaged his temples. Mai walked over to him and sat on the arm of the chair, and held his hand. I poured each of us a cup of tea (English, of course) to help us calm down. It helped, but not much. Finally, we decided to stop stressing out about it and go to bed. I was grateful for that verdict.

-

The first thing I did that morning was interrogate Yugi.

"Excuse me, Yugi," I said. "Can I ask your last name?" He nodded.

"It's Mutou. Why?" he asked. I pulled out the second death threat from my pocket.

"We got another one, but it was aimed at my dad. You said that you dad was trying to get a job, and my dad would have been trying to get a job around the same time he was," I explained. "Since you threw the first one, I suspected that you put this into our toolbox." He shook his head.

"I can't pick locks, but my dad does in case we get locked out or something. He said that he didn't get the job he wanted, so that may be why it's there," he said.

"What job was he trying to get?" I asked.

"A teaching job as a professor in the local University," Yugi replied. "He wanted to be an Egyptologist."

"My dad just got that job yesterday," I said. Yugi nodded.

"I heard. Congratulations, I guess, and sorry about my dad. He's really worried about finances and such," Yugi said.

"Then what about the first death threat?" I asked.

"Well, my dad doesn't like homophobes, and since he knew that your dad was a homophobe, he said that your dad was a sinner for that," Yugi said. "He believes that if humans don't accept each other as they are, then they're sinning." I nodded.

"I guess that makes sense. But how did he know?" I asked.

"He said that he worked with your dad on some project while they were in high school," Yugi said. "I guess that your dad said something mean about gay people."

"Oh, I see," I said. At least the whole death threat thing had been resolved.

"So…are you going to tell the cops about him?" Yugi asked in a nervous tone. I shook my head.

"Of course not! Property can always be fixed, and he didn't really break anything with the second note," I explained. I did feel slightly guilty for his dad not getting the job. "Um, is he applying for another job?" I asked.

"Yeah, at the University again. This time in the anthropology department. I think he'll actually get it this time," Yugi said. "Thanks, though. I'll make sure to stop him if he tries to do it again." I nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, Yugi, for being honest and stuff," I said. He nodded, and we went our separate ways. For now, the mystery of the death threats had been more-or-less solved, but at least I was relaxed, for once.

-

Social Studies class soon came, and Bakura and I presented our civilization to the class. It went well, and we received a score of one-hundred percent. Needless to say, we were quite happy. Marik and Malik also went, being perfect in their presentation, as usual. Their diorama was extremely detailed for a two-day project, and the trees in it looked almost real. As for their inventions, they were new inventions that could actually be used—the ZuPod extremely-mini Nano, for instance. It was sort of like a Zune and an iPod combined. It could do everything an iPod and a Zune could do, except it could also make miniature toast slices. You just cut up little pieces of bread, put them into the ZuPod, and out popped toast.

Somehow, I didn't think that you were taking me seriously when I said that. But it was true. We even sampled the mini toast slices, and they were delicious. Marik and Malik said that they planned on selling it to Microsoft, to see if they'd actually use their idea. If they didn't, they'd keep it for themselves.

Their other invention was equally as brilliant, but much too complex to even begin to explain. Let's just say that it was a strange-looking "toy" that you'd find in the adult bookstore.

"And I couldn't have done it without Marik's help," Malik said after they finished presenting.

"Same here," Marik added, grinning and putting an arm around Malik's shoulders.

Of course, their project got the highest grade, for being so well-done and detailed. For the record, their grade was, and I kid you not, a five-hundred percent. Sometimes I wondered if they were just complete overachievers.

"Yours was amazing," I said to Marik and Malik as we walked through the hall. They grinned.

"Thank you, Ryou. Yours and Bakura's was really good, too," Marik said. I scoffed a bit. Obviously, he was just trying to make me feel better. Oh yeah—and Andrew, the guy Malik would originally be paired up with, got an F. The only thing he had done was a doodle of a dinosaur biting some guy's head off. Sometimes I wondered why that kid hadn't dropped out yet.

School was over soon enough, and the first thing I did when I got home was tell my father about what Yugi had said to me. My dad nodded, rubbing his chin a bit.

"Yes, now I remember that man. He was competing for the job. I hadn't realized that he'd needed it so badly," he said. I shrugged.

"Well, Yugi said that he was applying for a different job there, one that he might get, so we probably won't get any more death threats," I said, smiling. He nodded.

"That's good, but unfortunate at the same time," he said. I raised an eyebrow at him, clearly asking why it was bad that we'd stop getting death threats. "They did bring a little spice into our lives, you know," he said, grinning now. I rolled my eyes, but laughed anyway.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said.

-

The next day, Yugi seemed extremely happy. Obviously, his dad had gotten the job, which meant that the threat of death threats was officially over. Bakura wasn't at school, however. Concerned, I went to Mai's office and asked if she knew where he was. The answer I got wasn't satisfactory.

"I'm not sure," she told me. "He didn't call in sick, and he didn't show up today at all. I can see his locker from my office, and I haven't seen him there all day." I nodded and sat down on the cot. It scrunched underneath my weight, making a rather unpleasant sound. Mai cringed a little. "I wish that they'd get some new cots in here," she said.

"Yeah, I agree," I replied, looking at it in distaste. Mai chuckled a little, sitting in her swivel chair. "So?" I said. "When's the official date when you and dad are getting married?"

"Probably a few months from now. We engaged pretty quickly, you know, and we agreed that we should wait awhile before actually getting married," she replied. I nodded.

"That makes sense." She nodded back.

"Yeah. Oh, and by the way, your dad got you something," she said. I blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked. She grinned a little evilly at me.

"I'm not telling," she said. I blinked.

"Why not?" I asked.

"To torture you for the rest of the day. I know that you'll keep wondering about it," she said, still grinning.

"Come on, at least give me a hint!"

"Fine. It's very important," she said. "Oh, and you'll be so excited you'll wet yourself." I stared.

"It's _that_ huge?" I asked. "What could possibly make me that happy? Is it some sort of freakish sex toy? Because I don't really like sex toys--."

"No, it's not a sex toy. And by 'wet yourself' and 'excited' I didn't mean in a sexual way. I meant that you'd pee your pants," she said. "Sheesh! You don't _look_ perverted, but you really are, aren't you?"

"Well, a little, if you count the amount of magazines I have under my mattress," I said. "And anyway, what is it? Can't you please tell me? Come on! At least another hint!"

"No more hints," she said with a smirk. She glanced at her clock a moment. "Anyway, you'd better get to class before you're late," she said, just before I could protest. I sighed, pretending not to care about the "huge surprise".

"I'm not that curious about it, you know," I said, while I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder.

"I'm sure," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I won't be excited. It's probably another shirt or something," I said.

"Right. Well, I'll just let you keep wondering." I left after bidding her goodbye, and went to class. After class I had lunch, and went straight to my friends. The first thing I did was ask them about what they thought it was, based on the hints Mai had given me.

"I dunno what it could possibly be," Marik said. "An elephant? I'd pee myself if I saw one hanging around in my yard."

"I…really doubt that my dad would get me an elephant," I said. Marik shrugged.

"He might have. You never know until you know."

"Maybe Mai's just teasing you," Malik suggested. I nodded.

"Yeah, that seems the most likely. But I'm still really eager to see what it is," I said. "Any ideas, Mana?" She shrugged.

"I think that Marik has the right idea," she said. "I would pee myself if there was one at my house. It's most likely an elephant." I sighed, wondering if Mai told them what my dad got me, and they were just making fun of me. It was possible, considering that Mana kept giggling, and Malik was shaking and covering his face with his hands like he was having the greatest time ever. It was pretty damn obvious now. So, I settled for pouting and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Aw, Ryou," Malik said, once he'd calmed down. "Don't pout like that. We really have no clue what it is. Honestly!"

"Yeah, right," I said.

"We're serious. We were just laughing because the idea that your dad got you an elephant was so stupid," Marik said with a snicker. I sighed.

"Right, whatever," I said. The bell rang, and we quickly hurried to our next classes. School from then on seemed to go too slowly—Mai was right. I was getting eager to know what my dad got me. It made one second last one minute, and one minute seemed to last one hour, and one hour seemed to last a day, and so on. Finally, much to my relief, the final bell rang, and I hurried home with my dad and Mai, completely forgetting about Bakura for once.

-

When I finally arrived at home, I looked around the entire house to see what my dad got me. He and Mai seemed to enjoy watching me scramble, and occasionally muttered about whatever this huge thing was. Then, dad checked his watch while I flopped over the couch, practically dead from all the searching I'd done.

"You didn't find it, I'm guessing?" my dad asked. I nodded wearily. "Alright, come on." He grinned and he and Mai led me outside. "Wait here," my dad said. I nodded, and he walked to the garage. I raised an eyebrow. Could it--?

Dad stuck his key into a switch on the side of the garage, and it opened with a mechanical growl. As the entrance to the garage widened, so did my eyes. Inside of our garage was the most beautiful car I'd ever seen. It was a Toyota with a blue frame. The seats inside were dark black, and—best of all—weren't leather. It was sleek and so amazing I cried. My dad grinned, walking over to me, and handed me the key to it.

"It's yours. It's all paid off, by the way. I thought that you shouldn't have to keep paying for your first car," he said. "Mai helped pay for it, too, so thank her. Without her help, this car wouldn't even be here." I clutched the key in my hand and hugged them both.

"Thank you so much!" I yelled. "I love you! I seriously do!"

"Hold on a second!" my dad said, probably not used to being hugged so suddenly. "We have to go over the rules for it!" I nodded and stepped back, grinning like an idiot. "Okay, first, if you want to paint it or get things for it, even air fresheners, you have to pay for those. Second, if you get in an accident, you pay for the damages. It does have insurance, but you still have to pay for whatever isn't covered. Third, if you ever give a ride to anyone, you and everyone else _has_ to wear your seatbelts, otherwise your car will be taken away. Fourth, if you listen to the radio, keep it fairly quiet. Fifth, anyone you give a ride to has to stay quiet, and also, don't talk on your cell phone while you're driving. If you need to call someone, pull over somewhere and do it. Do you promise to follow those rules?" he asked. I nodded again.

"Of course I will!" I said.

"Good. So, do you want to take it for a ride?" he asked. I nodded eagerly, and we jumped into the car. Needless to say, it ran as beautifully as it looked. Of course, I hadn't driven in a long time, so I was a little bit nervous. But I go the hang of it quickly, and soon I was driving all over the place. I even stopped at Marik's to show off to him and Malik. They were quite excited for me, too.

Finally, we returned home, since I had a little bit of homework to do. While I was working on it, the phone rang. I picked it up, only to hear disembodied, heavy breathing.

"H-help," it whispered. I blinked. I couldn't recognize the voice—it was all hoarse.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"H-help me," the voice said. I heard something dropping on the other end, and the connection went dead. Thankfully, though, I had caller ID. I checked the number. It was unfamiliar to me, so I called up Marik, hoping that he knew whose number it was.

"Oh, that's Bakura's number. He called you? What'd he say?" Marik replied once I'd told him the number. I gasped. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, my god," I whispered. "Marik, I have to go. I'll talk to you later, alright? See you!"

"Hey, Ryou--!" Marik exclaimed, but I hung up and hurried outside.

"Ryou?" Mai said, staring. "Where are you going?"

"I'll explain later! I have to hurry!" I replied frantically. I dashed to my car, jumped in, and quickly started it. Then I drove to Bakura's home as quickly as I could, but also as safely as I could. When I finally arrived, I parked away from the house so Bakura's dad, if he was even home, wouldn't get suspicious. Thankfully, the older man left just as I arrived. As soon as he was out of view, I hurried to Bakura's front door and ran in. It was unlocked, after all. I gasped and saw Bakura lying on the floor, panting and clutching his cell phone. It was still on, displaying my number, even after all this time.

My stomach sank when my eyes adjusted to the dim light. His face was bruised and his nose was bleeding. His stomach was an ugly purple color, and he just seemed dead, overall. The makeup on his face had smeared, and his fingers twitched occasionally. But what disturbed me the most were the bruises on his neck.

"Oh, god," I muttered. "Bakura, hang on, please," I begged. I shut his cell phone off and struggled to carry him. In the end, I had to sort of drag him by his upper torso while he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"W-wait," he whispered before I could take him out. "In the basement…get Sullivan." I blinked.

"First let me take you to the car," I said. "I promise I'll get Sullivan." He nodded and I dragged him out to the car, set him in the front seat, and buckled him in. Then I ran back inside and hurried to the basement, where I saw a tank with a somewhat large, green snake in it. That must've been Sullivan, so I grabbed the tank and hurried outside. I put the tank in the back of the car and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Bakura," I said, looking to him, "I need to take you to a hospital." He immediately shook his head.

"Hospital…no good," he managed out with a cough.

"Why?" I asked, staring.

"Can't…pay," he whispered. "No insurance."

"Then where _can_ I take you?" I said.

"Your house…Mai," he said. I blinked.

"Oh yeah! Mai's the school nurse. She can help, I know she can," I muttered, more to myself if anyone. I drove to my home, and all I could do was hope that Bakura would be alright.

TBC

Mew: -still hiding-

Draiku: Alright, go ahead and attack. Because believe me, she plans on killing off Bakura. No, I'm serious.

Mew: Lies! All lies!

Draiku: I'd like to see you prove that!

Mew: Fine! I will! –does a two-column proof-

Draiku: You've been paying too much attention in geometry. –shakes head in shame-

Mew: Yeah, I know. –sad sigh-

Yoko: Okay then. Anyway, we hope you enjoyed it, and please R&R! We really appreciate it when you do!


	17. Gym Class

Mew: And now, for the dramatic conclusion of Badass Boyfriend!

Draiku: Liar. It's far from over.

Mew: And you would know that how?

Draiku: I just _do_.

Mew: … -sigh-

Also, I want to thank everyone who's reviewed the story! Thanks to you, Badass Boyfriend has over two-hundred review! I'm seriously honored—thank you so much for taking the time to leave a few encouraging words here!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku is a perverted teen with no life, so she can't possibly own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 17: Gym Class

As soon as I got home, I tried to get Bakura out of the car and into the house so I could help him. However, he insisted that I bring his snake—Sullivan—in first. I guess he didn't want me to forget it. So, I carried the tank in, and my dad freaked out.

"R-ryou?" he said. "I-is that a snake?" I nodded. "Ryou, get it out of the house! They're so slimy and…and disgusting!" My dad had a very large phobia of snakes, and not because of Adam and Eve. However, that may have played a part in his phobia.

"I can't, dad—listen, I'll explain later. Just get out the first aid kit, and wait in the living room for me," I said calmly, setting the tank on the kitchen counter. Angel walked in and peered curiously at Sullivan, but before she could jump, my dad scooped her up in one swift motion.

"No, Angel, the snake might eat you," I heard him saying to her while I went back outside to get Bakura. He was still there, staring at the floor of my car.

"Come on, Bakura," I said gently, and lifted him out. My dad was peering out of the window, and he gasped. He rushed outside and helped me carry Bakura into the living room, where we laid him on the couch so Mai could treat his injuries.

"What…what happened to him?" my dad asked while Mai calmly began bandaging a small cut on Bakura's cheek. She probably had seen this many times before, and was used to it by now.

"He called me a while ago. I called Marik to ask who it was, and he said that it was Bakura. I hurried to his house and saw him lying in the living room like this," I explained softly. I didn't mention seeing his dad leave.

"These bruises must've been caused by an adult," Mai mumbled, inspecting a large, ugly bruise on Bakura's chest. "Was he being abused?" I shuddered.

"His dad does call him names and such…and I saw him leave when I got there," I replied in a whisper. I clenched my hands into fists, and my dad placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I lowered my head, and Mai gently touched Bakura's torso and arms. Every time she touched his ribs, he gasped and cringed subconsciously.

"I think that this rib is broken," she said with a frown. I gasped.

"Can you set it?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Ribs have to heal on their own," she explained. "Poor kid. He's obviously been through a lot."

"Y-yeah," I mumbled. "…I wish that I could do more for him." The fact that I hadn't been there earlier, to stop Bakura's father in the first place, made me feel horrible.

"It's alright. You've done a lot," my dad said. "What would've happened if you hadn't taken him?" I shrugged, like I didn't know, but the truth was that I didn't want to think about it. "How about Mai and I fix up something for him so he can eat when he wakes up?" my dad suggested. She nodded, and they went to the kitchen, leaving me alone with Bakura. For a moment, I was tempted to kiss him, but that would, in a sense, be taking advantage of him. So instead, I settled for brushing back his bangs with a hand.

I stared at his peaceful, tender face, wondering why he hadn't said anything before. Seeing those bruises made me want to cry. I held his hand gently, like I was comforting him, and sat there in silence. But one thing kept bothering me: Why had he called me in the first place? Didn't he have other friends who could help him? Closer friends who he trusted more?

"Why me?" I murmured to him. Of course, he didn't respond. I was glad he was sleeping, though. It would really help him recover. His eyelids twitched a little and he muttered something inaudible. I blinked, listening closer, but I still couldn't understand what he was saying.

"…Mother…" Bakura whispered softly. A small tear fell from his eye and slid down his face. It seemed like he was dreaming. I frowned a little, and suddenly gasped. A long while ago, when we first started talking, he'd said that his father had left him. But why had he said that?

"Ryou?" Bakura's voice said softly, weakly. I blinked, looking down at him. He was awake—a little groggy, but awake.

"Are you alright? Do you hurt anywhere?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Not really. Where am I?"

"We're at my house. My dad and Mai are in the kitchen to get you something to eat, by the way," I explained. He nodded.

"Okay. Good. Thank you, Ryou," he said in a very soft voice.

"It's alright, don't worry about it," I insisted.

"Did my dad see you?" I shook my head.

"I don't think so. He seemed sort of…drunk, actually," I admitted.

"That's no surprise," Bakura grumbled, and sighed. He tried to sit up, but took in a gasp and fell back. "My…my side," he managed out.

"Mai says that your rib broke," I quickly said. "Just lie still." He grunted in acknowledgement and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Dammit. If my rib's broken, how can I fight back?" he whispered to himself.

"You don't have to," was my immediate answer. "You're not going back there. What your dad did was…horrible. Wrong. I don't care what my dad says, you're staying here." He stared at me, eyes open once again.

"But…" he started.

"We can get your stuff later." He paused a while.

"Alright," he finally said. "But why are you doing that for me?"

"You're my friend," I replied simply. The love confession could wait for now. He smiled.

"Thanks, Ryou," he said softly. "You're a good friend." I smiled back, and my dad brought out some coffee and food for Bakura.

"Ah, you're awake," he said, still sounding a little worried about him. "Here, Mai and I fixed you up some food. I hope you don't mind cheese and ham."

"Thank you," Bakura said, taking it from him. He bit down on the sandwich eagerly.

"You can stay as long as you like, by the way. We have a guest room that's currently not in use," my dad explained. Bakura stared a moment.

"It's…it's really okay with you that I stay?" he asked. My father nodded.

"Of course it is. What your father did wasn't right," he said, kneeling and taking Bakura's hand. Bakura sighed a little, looking away. It was clear that he was embarrassed and upset about the entire situation.

"I know," he mumbled. "Is Sullivan here?" he added, looking to me. I nodded.

"He's in the kitchen. Do you want me to go get him for you?" I offered. He nodded, and I carefully got Sullivan for him. Bakura smiled, taking the snake out of its tank (much to my dad's discomfort), and smiled at it.

"I'm glad that Sullivan's alright," he murmured, holding the snake up so its tongue flicked Bakura's nose. My dad winced, of course. "Sometimes dad threatened to kill him."

"It's good that he didn't," I said. Again, Angel came over and peered at Sullivan curiously. She probably wondered what sort of toy he was supposed to be.

"Yeah," Bakura said, putting Sullivan on his arm so it could snake around it. No pun intended, of course. He looked to my dad. "Do you not like snakes?" he asked. My dad paused.

"I…I don't know," he said. "I was bitten by one when I was very young, and they've always been on my bad side."

"Ah, I don't blame you. Well, I promise that Sullivan won't bite. He's very tame, if you want to touch him," Bakura said. Clearly, he wanted people to understand that snakes weren't bad at all.

"That's alright," was my dad's immediate answer. "I see that he's tame." Bakura chuckled a little and took a sip from the coffee. We chatted with him for a while, discussing various plans about getting his things from his home, house rules, things like that.

"And we go to bed by ten," my dad finished. "On weekends, however, you can stay up until twelve." Bakura nodded.

"I see. Alright, that sounds good," he said. "If I break any rules, do I get grounded?"

"I suppose I could give you a warning," my dad replied after pausing a moment.

"Dad!" I whined.

"Well, you won't get in trouble as long as it isn't a major rule, like no having sex in the house," he said. Of course, I knew that it was directed at me. I made a mental note to talk to him about that later.

"Ah, that makes sense," Bakura said. He looked to a clock on the wall. "So I suppose it's just past bedtime?" he asked. My dad chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, you're right," he said. "I think that Ryou has some pajamas you can wear for tonight, and if you need clothing for tomorrow you can borrow his, too."

"Alright. I think that I'm about his size, maybe a bit taller," Bakura said, smiling a little. "Thanks again for letting me stay here."

"It's alright," dad said.

"I just wanted to mention that there's a cut on your cheek that will leave a very small scar, so you may want to try that anti-scar cream after it heals," Mai said, finally speaking again. Bakura nodded, touching the bandage on his cheek.

"That's okay," he said. "I don't really mind. Besides, it'll only be a small scar, right?" Mai nodded.

"Okay. Well, let's head to bed. I'm exhausted," she said. Dad chuckled and they headed upstairs, leaving me to help Bakura to the guestroom. I helped him up, since he was limping a bit, and we made our way to his bed.

"I'll go get some pajamas for you," I said. He nodded and I went to get them. It took a while, considering that I wanted him to wear the tightest ones possible. And I know what you're thinking, so stop those thoughts right now, or else. Though I do admit that you may just be right.

Anyway, I brought them to him, and he changed into them right in front of me. And god, he was beautiful. Sure, we had gym class together—I forgot to mention that? Sorry. Anyway, we had gym together, but we were on opposite sides of the locker room, and we didn't shower, so I didn't really know what he looked like with his shirt off.

"Thanks," he said, observing how tight the pants were and trying to adjust them.

"Sorry if they're a little tight, those were the biggest pair I had," I lied.

"It's alright, they work just fine," he said and lied back in the bed. I nodded.

"Alright, good. Well, goodnight. I hope you sleep well," I said. He thanked me again, bid me goodnight, and I went to my room. As soon as I fell asleep, I dreamt about Bakura wearing those pajama pants, except a lot tighter, and made of leather. Needless to say, it was quite nice.

-

Ever since our old gym teacher died, the new one had given me a somewhat bad feeling. Don't ask me why; he just scared me a little. But what was the most scary about him was his icy-cold glare.

"Ryou! You need to sweat a little more! Come on, I know that you're not using your full effort!" he yelled while we were running laps.

"Sorry, Mr. Kaiba!" I yelled back. (A/N: Oh my god. Kaiba's the gym teacher. Run, or he'll make you do pushups!)

"Don't bother with apologizing, just work harder!" I groaned and looked enviously at Bakura who, by the school nurse's order, got excused from running and whatnot in gym. He was just walking laps, which looked extremely easy. Of course, he still had the limp, but it wasn't as bad as last night. At least he was up on his feet.

"Dammit," I mumbled, throwing off my shirt. Most kids—boys, I mean—did it during gym, and Kaiba didn't mind. And sure, I probably wasn't the most built kid around, but in my opinion, I had a pretty good body.

Well, a decent one with no muscles, at least.

"Alright, that's enough!" Kaiba yelled, after checking his timer. We'd been running laps for ten minutes straight—enough to kill a person. Of course, that was our punishment for not following directions the first time. "Now, will you listen this time?" Kaiba asked. We nodded. "Good. Now, badminton is a relatively simple game," he explained, eyeing me especially. I guess he expected me to be able to do this, at least. "Ryou," he said. "Come over here so I can demonstrate a basic one-on-one play." I nodded and walked over to the net, and he got onto the other side. "First, you serve. It's always underhand," he said. He served the birdie to me, and I hit it back over. While we played, he yelled out how to play and basic moves to the class. Of course, I imitated him a bit, and finally he missed the birdie. Needless to say, I was quite proud of myself.

"That's the first time I've missed," Kaiba said with a laugh. "Good job." He clapped me on the shoulder, squeezing a little, and continued to teach. I looked to my shoulder where he'd touched me. For some reason, I just felt a little jittery, but it was probably because I was shirtless, and right in front of Bakura. Oh, the perverted thoughts. Of course, I quickly shoved them away before I could "go up" during class. That would…well, that would get me a one-way ticket to suspension.

"Pair up," Kaiba yelled. I couldn't pair up with Bakura, and there was an odd number of students in the class when he was out. Being shy, as usual, I got stuck being paired with Kaiba. He seemed happy about that, to say the least.

"Now," he yelled to the class, "You all played badminton two years ago, so you should remember both of the rules. I hope you remember the rotating pattern, because that will be on the test. Everyone, line up!" Every person lined up, standing with their partner. Kaiba numbered everyone off, from one to eight twice. Kaiba and I were against two boys named Yami and Jonouchi. I was quite intimidated by them—Yami was on the basketball team and very competitive, while Jonouchi was on the football team. Needless to say, it wouldn't be a very fair game. Their team had two great athletes, while ours was only half-decent.

"Alright, let's get started," Kaiba said, and served the birdie to Yami. It was a high serve, which was a good idea, considering Yami's height. However, it was pretty useless. Yami had a vertical jump of almost twenty-four inches—which was why he was on the basketball team—so he was actually almost seven feet tall.

Of course, Yami used his high jumping skill to his advantage, and hit it right back over, straight at me. I suppose that he'd estimated me to be the weaker half of our team. Which totally sucked, since that meant that I'd have to hit the birdie more than half the time.

Surprisingly, I seemed to move automatically to hit the birdie to Jonouchi. He, surprised by my quick movement, swung at the birdie and missed. It fell to the floor, and he stared at me, stunned.

"Hey, good hit," Kaiba said, grinning.

"Thanks," I replied, grinning back. I'd noticed that Bakura had stopped and was watching me playing. It was a good feeling to know that the object of my affection was looking at me.

After a long while of playing, the bell rang. Kaiba and I had won by five points. For once in my entire life I'd actually won a game. It felt pretty good, actually. I went to the locker room, being congratulated by some classmates. They probably knew that I wasn't an athlete, and deserved some recognition for finally winning a game.

"Hey, you did really well," Bakura said, grinning at me. "I didn't know that you were so good at badminton." I grinned back.

"Me, neither. I was pretty surprised when Kaiba and I beat those two," I said. Bakura nodded.

"Same, here. They're the top two athletes of the entire school," he added.

"Yup. That's why I was surprised." I pulled off my pants to change into my regular ones, and looked up just in time to see Bakura pulling off his own. His back was to me, and the waistband of his gym shorts caught on his boxers. He apparently didn't notice, and kept pulling down until his entire backside was showing.

Oh, my god.

Even though he pulled his boxers back up very quickly, the image stayed in my mind. It was…oh god, it was so wonderfully beautiful. Normally I'm more attracted to the chest and frontal part of the waist, but his butt was too gorgeous to ignore. Of course, this may be a bad thing, considering that he was staying at my house now, and I may "accidentally" fall onto him and onto the couch. But that would be marvelous, and maybe even something to look forward to.

"Ryou!" Kaiba said, breaking me from my thoughts. Damn him. "Come see me after school for a moment."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," I replied. Now that I'd been interrupted, it was hard to get back to thinking about Bakura's ass. Maybe that was good, since I didn't want to get suspended for lewd activities anytime soon.

-

After school, while Bakura went to ask our math teacher for help on a problem, I stopped in Kaiba's office. He looked like he'd been waiting.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes. I noticed that you are extremely good at badminton, and that you may even surpass me. So I was wondering if you'd be the captain of the badminton team in our school. Its season is coming up, you know," he explained. I blinked.

"You're serious?" I said. He nodded again.

"Of course I am. Would I honestly lie to you?" he said. I paused.

"Well, I could be nice, or I could be truthful," I replied. He chuckled.

"I guess you're right. You're a good student, by the way. I look forward to teaching you each day," he said. I blinked again. Okay, that was a little strange. But it was a compliment, nonetheless.

"Um, thank you. And I'll have to check my work schedule for the badminton team thing. I'll also have to talk to my boss about it. She'll probably go easy on me about it, though," I said. He nodded.

"Where do you work, anyway?" he asked.

"The local Barnes and Nobel. I kind of work in the Starbucks café there, but I also stock the shelves," I said with a shrug. "The pay's pretty good, at least." He nodded again.

"That's good. Well, you check your schedule and check back with me if it works for you." I nodded and turned to leave.

"Well, see you tomorrow," I said. He immediately got up and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, resting his head on one. I gasped, frozen stiff.

"Who said that you could leave?" he whispered into my ear. A blush covered my face as his hands trailed up my shirt and chest to stroke my nipples.

This couldn't be happening.

TBC

Mew: RAPE! RAPE! RAPE! RA—shot-

Draiku: -holding rifle- There we go. That takes care of that.

Mew: -twitches-

Yoko: …um. Well then. –turns to readers- Thanks for reading! Ignore Mew over there, she'll be just fine as long as you R&R!


	18. Death

Mew: I think that this story will have at least twenty chapters. If it doesn't, I'd be pretty surprised, actually.

Draiku: Yeah, me, too, since you're far from the conclusion. WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN PLANNED OUT CHYEAH.

Mew: I'm pulling a JK Rowling on youuuu. –evil grin-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own YGO! Dammit.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 18: Death

"It's alright, Ryou, just relax," Kaiba murmured into my ear. I was still stunned—there was no way this could be happening to me. Things like this just didn't happen! It made no sense!

"L-let go," I whimpered weakly as his tongue flicked my earlobe. It was an unpleasant feeling, to say the least. I grabbed his arms and tried to tug away, but my efforts were useless. He was a teacher—a gym teacher, at that—so he was bigger and stronger than me. I couldn't do anything but cry for help, but he soon prevented that by placing one hand over my mouth. I attempted to bite him, but he ignored it.

"Let's not get feisty, now," he whispered into my ear. "You'll be just fine if you do what I say. Like a good student." Tears streamed from my eyes while I mentally begged someone, anyone, for help. His free hand trailed down towards my waist, and into my pants. I gasped a little, taken by surprise, and struggled to get away again. Suddenly, he stopped and gasped. He shoved himself away from me, stumbling backwards and into the wall. I flicked around, staring at him fearfully.

"What was I doing?" he asked me, looking quite upset. I felt rather enraged at this.

"What were you doing??!" I yelled, glaring. "You were trying to rape me, dammit! How the _hell_ could you not remember??!" He gasped again and sank to the floor, gritting his teeth. I blinked. What the hell…?

"Sorry," he muttered softly. "I've done a lot of insane things, but never something like that." I stared.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would you not remember anything?" I asked. He sighed and got up to sit in his chair instead.

"I suffer from multiple personality disorder," he muttered, resting his chin in his hand. "The only reason I know about it is because I've been fired so many times for harming students one way or another. This other personality that comes out is…insane, to say the least." I stared for a long moment.

"…You're not kidding?" I asked. He nodded. "Are you…getting help for it or something?" He nodded again.

"It's hard. My psychologist is trying to convince the other personality to merge with mine, but it refuses to. I'm so sorry. It's never done anything like that before at all. Dammit, I should just give up my job as a teacher, shouldn't I?" He sighed sadly, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

"You shouldn't give up," I blurted. He looked to me.

"I hit a kid, mentally scarred another, insulted one for her religion, and nearly raped you. I _need_ to quit," he replied.

"Well, you are getting help for it, right?" I said. For some reason, I felt like I wanted to help Kaiba, even if he did almost rape me. I guess I was just an extremely forgiving person. He looked at me through his cold, blue eyes, and finally nodded. "Then don't quit. You're a good teacher, and you should be able to do what you want to." He smiled a bit. I admit that he looked a little creepy when he smiled, but I guess it was a good sign.

"Thanks," he said. "Anyway, what were we talking about before that happened?"

"Um, me being captain of the badminton team?" I said. He nodded.

"Ah, yes. Anyway, I was serious about that. You're one of the best badminton players I've seen in years, and I definitely think that you should try it," he explained. I nodded.

"I'll check my work schedule, and talk to my dad about it. I'm sure he'll approve, but I should make sure that I can," I replied.

"Good. Excellent, actually. Can you bring me the news tomorrow?" he asked. I nodded.

"Sure, but if I can't, I'll tell you the day after. If my dad says its alright, then I'll have to talk to my boss to see if I can switch my workdays."

"Great. Well, see you tomorrow, then," he said.

"Alright. Bye," I said. I left, acting calm, though I was still a little shaken from the whole experience. I met up with Bakura in the school lobby, and we headed to my car.

"So how did your talk with Kaiba go?" he asked while I was driving. I shrugged.

"Good, I guess. He wants me to be captain of the badminton team," I replied. Bakura grinned.

"Really? That's great! Did you say yes?" he asked.

"Not yet, I have to check my work schedule and talk to dad first," I explained.

"I see. You should totally do it, though. You might get a scholarship or something," he said.

"I know, that's why I want to do it." However, the fact that Kaiba had a duo personality that wanted to rape me scared me a bit. I didn't want to do it because of that, but if I got a scholarship…well, that would be just great.

After getting my dad's OK and checking my work schedule, I knew what my answer would be. The next morning, I went into Kaiba's office.

"I can do it," I said. He grinned.

"That's great!" he said. "I'm glad that you accepted the offer. You'd be a great addition to the team." I nodded, and the intercom called Marik's name. I blinked, wondering why he was being called to the office.

"Well, I'd better head to class," I said. Kaiba nodded, and I left in time to see Marik standing in the office. The principal was speaking to him quite solemnly.

"What??!" Marik suddenly yelled. "Why didn't—how did—when--??!" He suddenly collapsed to the floor, sobbing. The principal knelt down and comforted him as best as possible. Malik was a TA this hour, so he was already in the office. He hurried to Marik and hugged him gently, holding him close. Now that I saw Malik's expression, I knew that something was horribly wrong. I ran in as well.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly. Malik looked to me, tears in his eyes.

"Marik's dad just died," he said in a strained voice. I gasped, eyes widening.

"What??! How??!" I demanded.

"Car crash," Malik whispered, stroking Marik's back gently. For a moment, all I could do was sit there, stunned. Finally, I fell to the floor as well, silent and shocked. Finally, Marik's mom arrived. She was in tears as well. She took Marik and Malik out of school (Malik came because Marik had asked him to), and I headed back to class.

For the rest of the day, I mostly felt confused. Why did he have to die? Marik's dad was such an awesome guy…

Nothing made any sense any more.

-

After school, I drove home with Bakura, who had noticed Marik leaving during school.

"So what happened to him?" he asked while we walked inside.

"His dad died today," I replied softly. Bakura gasped.

"Are you serious?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I think that he died in a car crash. That's what Malik told me," I said. "My god. I can't believe he's gone. I knew him pretty well from when my dad kicked me out, too." Bakura nodded.

"When I was little, I always used to go to Marik's house. His dad was always really nice, too," he said softly. He went into the kitchen and to Sullivan, while I picked up Angel so she wouldn't bother the snake. Of course, she still managed to bat at its tail a little anyway.

"How can you tell the gender of snakes, anyway?" I asked, deciding to get off the topic of Marik's dad for now.

"Well, male snakes have this little, almost pouch-like thing right here. If you squeeze it just right, his penis pops out," Bakura replied, showing me. Sure enough, a little snake penis popped out. Needless to say, it was a little freaky. "Girl snakes don't have that. It's the same for other reptiles, like crocodiles and alligators and such."

"How do they have sex?" I asked, slightly amazed. What can I say? It was pretty interesting.

"I dunno. They'd probably use the missionary position," Bakura said.

"How would that be possible? Snakes don't have legs."

"I have no idea. Maybe they do it doggy-style?" he suggested. "But then again…ah, whatever. They do it _somehow_."

"Snaky-style," I said with a snort. Bakura chuckled as well. We then began describing how two snakes would do it, in explicit detail. It was pretty funny, to say the least.

"What are you two talking about?" Mai yelled from the living room. Bakura and I stopped laughing, clamping our jaws shut.

"Nothing," I quickly replied. "Just…our biology reports that we did today."

"Ah, I see," she said, chuckling. I heard my dad chuckling as well, and they began muttering to each other.

"What are _you_ two talking about?" I asked.

"Your biology reports that you did today," my dad replied. Evidently, ever since he and Mai got together, he'd enjoyed making somewhat dirty jokes. I guess that it was a good change, since, being a boy, I found those pretty funny. And don't deny it, girls, they can be hilarious if you tell them correctly. The only time I didn't like the dirty jokes was when Bakura was over, which was going to last for a while.

Later that night, we settled down in the living room and decided to watch the latest episode of Desperate Housewives. It'd always been one of my favorite shows, probably because Andrew was hot. Bakura didn't seem to like the idea of watching this show, and asked why I liked it. I quickly made something up, and said that ever since Mai came, we watched it each night, and I liked spending time with them. He bought it.

However, as we watched, Bakura seemed to get more and more into it.

"Lynette," Lynette's stepfather was saying, "I didn't leave your mother because she was cheating on me. I left because I'm gay."

"I knew it!" Bakura blurted, surprising all of us. He hadn't said much throughout the show. "That was pretty obvious."

"I never would've guessed it," I said.

"Ah. I have gaydar, though," he replied. I sweatdropped, but at the same time wondered if he knew that I was gay.

"Oh. I…guess that makes sense," I said.

"Yup. I knew about Marik, Malik, and even Mana," he said. If he knew about Mana, then he probably knew about me, too. I had to be sure.

"What about me?" I asked. He gave me a weird look.

"No, I don't think that you're gay. You're kinda feminine in your looks, but you're totally straight," he replied. I almost gave a sigh of relief, but otherwise didn't know how to react. "Well, there's the commercial break. I'll be right back," he said, getting up and heading for the bathroom. After he left, my dad and Mai cracked up laughing.

"Oh, shut up," I mumbled, blushing. "I'm glad he didn't know. Otherwise, who knows what he'd do right now?"

"Good point, but he was way off," Mai said through giggles. "Maybe you aren't giving off the proper gay signals."

"Right, whatever," I said, still blushing. Bakura came back.

"What was all the laughing about?" he asked.

"Oh, just a funny commercial," I lied. He nodded and sat down and kept watching with us. Eventually the show ended, and Brothers and Sisters came on. I hated that show so much it wasn't even funny, so we flicked off the television and decided to head to bed. Bakura went to the guest room, of course, and I went to mine.

That night I slept easily, though my dreams were quite strange. They were filled with depressing auras, probably from Ban's death, and strange symbols. However odd the dreams were, I still managed to stay asleep, which I was grateful for.

-

Three days had passed since Marik's dad died. The funeral was today. I went, of course, with dad and Mai, even though they didn't know Ban that well. It was a nice ceremony, which Marik definitely helped pay for, but very depressing at the same time. When it was time to speak about him, Marik went first. He talked a lot about childhood memories, about introducing his parents to Malik for the first time and how they couldn't even talk to him because he only knew Arabic, about how he came out, and just little things that didn't seem all that important, but were precious at the same time.

"Then there was this one time at my fourteenth birthday, where he put thirteen candles on the cake, and I didn't even notice until my birthday was over. Since then we've always put one less candle on the cake for each of us, sort of like a tradition or something," he said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I just wish that he would've been able to live to see me get wed to Malik. It was going to be this year, after I graduated, but…I guess not." He sighed, and though he acted like it was no big deal, it clearly was to him. Marik's mom went next, and she mostly talked about when they first met, when they were married, and when they had children.

"When Marik was being born, he actually let me bite on his hand so it hurt less," she said, crying a little. "He bled a lot, and had to get stitches because I kept biting him. When it healed, it left a huge scar on his hand, and we called it the love bite." Everyone chuckled a little. A few more family members who I'd never met before went up and spoke about him. After about ten minutes passed, the funeral was over. I left after viewing Ban's body, and saw Marik and Malik sitting on a bench together. Marik was leaning against Malik, tears slowly falling from his eyes. I'd never seen him so depressed-looking before. He was always happy and laughing. To see him like this freaked me out a little, actually.

I walked over to them, and Marik looked up. His eyes were practically swimming in tears.

"Sorry about your loss," I said softly. He sighed, looking away.

"S'alright. Thanks for coming," he replied. Malik held him gently and frowned a little. He clearly hated seeing Marik so sad. Frankly, I did too.

"If you ever need anything, just ask," I offered. He managed a small, weak-looking smile.

"Alright," he said. I nodded, and my dad, Mai, and I headed home.

-

Marik seemed better at school the next day—much better.

"I swear it's true! He visited me in a dream!" Marik said in a serious-yet-excited tone. "It was amazing!"

"What did he say again?" Mana asked. She'd only arrived a bit before Marik had ended his story.

"Alright, last night, I was dreaming that I was all alone, just sitting there. Then, my dad appeared in front of me, smiling! I was so excited that I nearly jumped in my sleep! Anyway, he said, 'Sorry I left you, Marik.' I replied, 'It wasn't your fault,' and he said, 'I know, but I'm still sorry.' Anyway, he was about to leave, but he said, 'Oh, and I'll be at your wedding, by the way.' It was awesome! I asked him if there really was a God, and he said, 'I'm not sure. I think that it's something we'll always wonder about.' It was…interesting, to say the least. I think that he really did visit me, but it might've been my mind making something up. But I really think that he came. Oh yeah, I asked if I'd see him at the wedding, and he said yes! It was amazing!" Marik said with a grin. I grinned back.

"I'm glad that you dreamt that, even if it was made up," I said. Malik nodded.

"You're a lot more cheerful today than the day he died," he said, putting an arm over Marik's shoulders. Marik smiled.

"Well, I'm totally convinced that it was really him. I'm just glad that he's out there, and that he knows what I'm doing," he said softly.

All of us agreed with him.

TBC

Mew: Sorry for the shortness of it all, but it literally took all I had to get those last couple of pages down. –sad sigh- Anyway, hope you liked it.

Draiku: They didn't. I can see it in their eyes.

Mew: You're a figment of my imagination. Go back into my head.

Draiku: Oh, crap. –disappears-

Mew: It's nice and quiet now, isn't it, Yoko?

Yoko: Why, yes it is, actually. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please R&R, we really appreciate it!


	19. Costumes

Mew: With the way things are going and with the way I have things planned out for this story, it's definitely going to end up being over 20 chapters. I'm pleased—aren't you?

Draiku: No, because that means more waiting for the readers. Me included.

Mew: Whatever. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor does she own a car, her own house, land, and she could seriously go on forever like this, but to avoid boring you all, she'll stop.

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: If you have a DeviantART account that you have access to (like you know the password and such), I need your immediate help. Please contact me via the private messaging system and I'll explain. Thank you!

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 19: Costumes

Throughout the weeks that passed, not much changed, except that Bakura and I became more like brothers than anything else. It was a good feeling. Alright, not as good as it could've been, but still pretty damn good. I'd told my dad that I was an atheist (when Bakura wasn't around, since that was the excuse I used when dad kicked me out), and his reaction was quite amusing, yet annoying at the same time.

"Listen, Ryou," he said, sitting with me in the living room. Mai was shopping, and Bakura had joined the Drama Club. Who knew that he liked acting? Anyway, back to dad and I's discussion. "You know I respect your opinion and views on things, but this…this is insane. I don't know if I can even accept it."

"Well, you probably don't, so you'll kick me out for around a week or two. Then I'll save some guy's ass, get in the paper, and you'll think of me and regret your decision," I said, just a little sarcastically. We'd been talking for at least thirty minutes about why I should believe in God. Could you blame me for being rude?

"I told you, I'm not going to kick you out again, I promised that to you, and myself," he replied, rubbing his temples. Finally, he looked up at me. "Why?" he said simply.

"Why what?"

"Why don't you believe in God?" I sighed. We'd gone over this, but then again, he kept interrupting, so he hadn't heard my whole story.

"Mana asked the same thing. I choose not to because in that Christian school thing you sent me to, they told me that God would send me to Hell if I was bad. Since they were the teachers, I believed them more than you, I guess, and realized that I didn't want to believe in a god that hated someone for living the way they want to live," I explained. My dad held his head again.

"I told you that God forgave everyone, though, and that He loved everyone no matter what," he said.

"And then you'd ramble about how God sends gay people to Hell for being gay," I replied. "I knew that I wasn't exactly normal back in third grade, when I still thought that girls had cooties, and in fourth grade, which is when you sent me to the Christian school, I figured out that I was gay. I just didn't want to believe in a god that hated me."

"But He doesn't hate anyone!" my dad insisted. "He forgives no matter what."

"Then do I have to worry about going to Hell if I choose not to believe in Him? He is all-forgiving. I'm sure He'd understand."

"I guess that's right, but what about going to church together like we used to?"

"I'll still go to church with you if you want me to, as long as they aren't preaching something stupid that offends me," I replied. "I do enjoy going sometimes, since the people there are usually pretty nice." My dad smiled.

"Thank you. But if you don't believe in God, what do you think happens after death?" he said, now serious.

"I guess that we just die and go on to nothingness or something," I replied with a shrug. "I can't really say. I know that you're going to mention something about not having to worry about nothingness if I believed in God, but since God is all-forgiving, and if He exists, then I don't really have to worry about anything." Dad sighed.

"Alright, I'm tired of discussing this. How was school?" he said. I chuckled a bit, grateful that the conversation was over.

"Pretty good," I replied with a smile. "Easy, at least. I don't have any homework tonight." He nodded.

"That's good," he said. "How are your grades?"

"Staying up, and my science grade is an A- now," I said.

"Great! Get it to an A and keep it there so you won't have to take the final." I nodded and the doorbell rang. "That'll be Bakura and Mai. Could you get that?" he said.

"Sure." I got up and answered the door. Like my dad said, it was Bakura and Mai. Bakura seemed pretty tired—obviously he'd been practicing really hard in Drama.

"I got some groceries," Mai said, grinning. "Wanna help me carry them in, you two?"

"Alright," Bakura and I replied. We walked outside and brought in a few bags of groceries, and set them in the kitchen. After bringing them in and putting them away, Bakura turned to me.

"Ryou, is it alright if I talk to you?" he said. I nodded.

"Sure, what is it?" He looked around for a moment, while my dad and Mai went outside. Apparently, he wanted to show her something in the garden. Anyway, Bakura led me to his room, where he sat in the desk chair and I sat in the bed.

"I was thinking during Drama today," he said softly. "I owe you a lot for taking me in after that night. Living here feels closer to home than my dad's house ever did. And…I really mean that. I really, truly mean that." I smiled. "So…thank you, I guess."

"No problem," I replied with a smile. He paused.

"So how's the badminton team doing?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Pretty well. We've only lost one game this season," I replied. "It's really fun, though. Kaiba's a good coach. He's a little weird, though." Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked.

"His…coaching methods are a bit different," I replied, blushing a little as I recalled how he'd tried to make out with me in his office just the other day. Bakura nodded.

"I see," he said. "Oh yeah, are you going to the school Halloween party next week?" I nodded.

"Yeah, of course I am. Marik and Malik are kind of making me go, though," I replied. Bakura chuckled.

"They seem like they'd be the type to do that," he said.

"Are you going?" I asked. He nodded.

"Sure. I'm going as an ancient Egyptian thief. I designed the costume myself. I'll have to cut my hair a little short, though," he said. I nodded.

"Well, it grows back, right?" I said with a laugh.

"How short do you think I should cut it?" he asked. I paused.

"Depends on the looks you're going for, I suppose," I said. He explained the "personality" of the costume to me—someone who needs to survive, but is cocky at the same time, and considers himself better than anyone else, even the gods. He put a lot of thought into this.

"Any idea now?" he asked.

"How about until just below your chin? I think that would look like the person you're describing." He nodded, using his hands to put up his hair until it was just below his chin.

"Yes, that looks good, actually," he said. "Thanks. Who're you going as?"

"Dumbledore," I replied. "I don't really want to cut or dye my hair for it, so since Dumbledore has long white hair like mine, it'll be pretty simple."

"That's a good idea, I guess. But did you hear about what JK Rowling said about him?" he asked. I sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, that he's gay," I replied.

"I knew that, too. It was the gaydar," he said. I chuckled a little. "But why're you going as him, besides for simplicity?"

"He's my favorite character besides Lupin," I replied. However, my ultimate favorite character would be Draco—he's adorable, you know.

"So are you going to buy the costume, or make it?" he asked, putting his hands behind his head.

"I suppose that I'll buy a fake beard and glasses, but I'll try to make the other stuff, like the robe and hat," I replied. He nodded.

"That's a good idea. It's a bit cheaper that way," he commented.

"I know. That's why I'm sticking to something simple." There was a long pause in which we did nothing except sit and stare at air particles.

"Need any help with your costume?" he asked. I blinked.

"Sure. I could help you with yours, too," I offered. He nodded.

"That sounds good. Wanna get started, then? It's good to get ready early." I nodded as well.

"Good idea. Let's go get some cloth. I think that there's a store nearby with the correct colors," I said. He nodded again and we headed out.

Once we arrived at the cloth store, we looked at various patterns and colors to choose from. Bakura ended up picking a dark red color for the cloak, a cream color for the "inner cloak" (as he called it), and a dark blue cloth for a kilt. And yes, I do mean "kilt" as in the Scottish clothing that you wear no underwear with.

Once again, those damned perverted thoughts entered my mind. I almost had a hard-on in the store, to say the least.

I chose a grey cloth for my cloak, as well as a couple of good patterns to use for it and the hat. We told the woman at the counter that we decided to make our own costumes this year. She nodded and said that it seemed like a good idea.

We went back to my place, where we got to work on the outfits. While we were working in the living room, my urge to kiss him grew and grew. I had to take several bathrooms just to get away from him and try to keep my urges away. It didn't work. Finally, I decided to reason with those urges instead of fight them.

_What if I just sort of brushed up against him?_ I suggested to them. They rejected the idea.

**No. That's not enough, **they replied.

_How about I accidentally touch his hand?_

**Still not enough.**

_What if I fall onto the couch and into his lap?_

Pause. A very long pause, actually. I think that they were actually considering it.

**Alright. Be sure to grab his crotch a little while you do, too,** the urges said. I mentally cheered and returned to the living room, purposely taking a rather haphazard route.

"Sorry I keep going," I said apologetically. "Coffee runs right through me."

"That's alright. It's the same for me," Bakura said with a chuckle while I "tripped" over the coffee table. I let out a cry of surprise and fell forwards, right into his lap, and used the element of surprise to, as the urges had said, "Grab his crotch a little." He let out a yelp of complete surprise, while I almost fell to the floor. Thankfully, he grabbed me around the waist and stabilized me, preventing me from falling.

"S-sorry!" was my immediate reply.

"It's alright, it's alright," he replied, sitting me up, and sounding a little shaken. That had probably come from me grabbing his groin. For a moment I was practically straddling his lap, and a blush covered my face. I quickly got off, and we just as quickly got back to work. A long, silent moment passed, until Bakura finally spoke up.

"Ryou? I was wondering if you'd cut my hair for this," he said. I blinked, looking to him.

"You're sure? I've never cut someone's hair before," I replied.

"It's pretty easy. If you mess up, I'll just go get a trim," he explained. I nodded.

"A-alright, if you say so."

And the next thing I knew was that I was standing behind Bakura, holding a pair of scissors. Damn, I was worried. So damn worried that my knees were shaking. I didn't want to mess up his beautiful hair, you know.

The first cut was the worst, as far as nervousness goes. My stomach did a complete turn, then flopped over three times during the short amount of time it took to snip off a bit of Bakura's hair. The second cut wasn't so bad, and by the sixth it became very easy.

His hair actually looked really good afterwards. It was shorter, and the style was different, but it looked decent. Actually, he liked it, too.

"Sheesh, you're good at this," he said with a grin. "Thanks!" I nodded.

"Sure, no problem," I replied. We gathered up the hair, and I had the vast majority of it.

"What're you gonna do with that?" Bakura asked. I shrugged. Truth was, I wanted to keep it to smell tonight.

"I dunno. It would be a shame to waste it. Your hair is really soft. We could make a pillow, maybe," I suggested. He stared at me.

"A pillow," he repeated.

"Yeah."

"From human hair?"

"Exactly."

"That's weird."

"Well, my dad made my first pillow out of his hair when I was a baby. It was really soft. It still is," I explained. Bakura sighed.

"If you say so." And so, we sewed a pillow and stuffed it with Bakura's hair. There was enough to fill it, actually. It was softer than I'd imagined when we were finished. After we'd made the pillow, we got back to work on the costumes. Mine was finished first, of course, so I left to find some old glasses and a fake beard at a store. Thankfully, at Wal-mart they had everything I needed. Though I hated shopping at the place, I needed the stuff for my Halloween outfit, so I was sort of forced to go. When I returned, I saw Bakura admiring himself in the mirror. He was wearing his robe, the kilt, and the second robe. No shirt at all.

Oh, god. His chest was lovely. Especially bare. I actually had to sit on my hands to keep myself from jumping up and rubbing his chest up and down.

"How's this look? Is everything even?" he asked, turning around. I nodded.

"It looks perfect," I replied, talking more about his body than anything else.

"Good! Have you tried on yours, yet?" he asked, looking to me. I shook my head.

"No, not yet. Let me go change," I said, about to leave.

"You can change right here. It's not like we're gonna jump each other," he said with a laugh and a slight—very slight—blush. I laughed as well, pretending not to care. So I undressed and pulled the robe and hat on, as well as the glasses and fake beard. When I looked in the mirror, the only part of me that didn't look like Dumbledore was my face—he had wrinkles, and I didn't. Which, by the way, I'm very thankful for.

"Hah! You're the spitting image of him," Bakura said, grinning at me.

"Thanks!" I replied with a laugh. The beard was itchy, but I could get used to it—I hoped.

"Well, we're ready. Oh, and by the way, do you plan on going Trick or Treating?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I guess not. I'll probably hand out candy at home and eat the leftovers," I replied. He nodded.

"You should, though. Or you could volunteer at the haunted house on Main street. I'm sure the kids would love you," he said with a chuckle. The beard got too much to handle, so I pulled it off.

"You think so?" I said with a laugh. He nodded.

"Sure. You're the headmaster of the school every little kid wants to go to," he said. We talked for a while longer, and by the time my dad and Mai returned, it was time for bed. Where they'd been, I don't know. Probably dinner. Anyway, I went to bed, dreaming about Hogwarts, Bakura, and that damned itchy beard.

-

Finally, the day of the Halloween dance came. We arrived, and saw Marik and Malik waiting outside. The dance was actually in a little under an hour, but we liked being early.

"Ah, Dumbledore and short-haired hobo, I see?" Marik said with a grin.

"You're half right," Bakura replied. "I'm supposed to be an Egyptian thief. And what are you two supposed to be? Master and slave?"

"Mmmph nnmmph mmph," Malik replied, trying to talk through the ball gag he was wearing. He sighed through his nose, obviously annoyed, and pointed at it while looking at Marik.

"Oh, sure," Marik said, and removed the red ball from Malik's mouth.

"Thanks. What I meant to say was, 'Yeah, you're right.' We are master and slave. Obviously, he's the master," Malik said, grinning a little seductively. Marik just grinned back and put the ball gag back into Malik's mouth before running a finger under his chin.

"Are you sure they'll even allow you into the dance? Those outfits are pretty skimpy," I commented.

"Well, it's not like they _show_ anything. That'd be bad," Marik said.

"Mm-hmph," Malik added, nodding.

"It's not what they show, it's what they imply," Bakura said with a chuckle. "I think that you'll be kicked out for the leather alone."

"You're going shirtless," Marik commented.

"You're dressed up like BDSM perverts," Bakura retorted.

"Mmn, mmnph mmnnph mmph mmnph mmmphmn?" Malik said, looking to Marik. Marik sighed and removed the ball gag. "What I said was, 'Hey, didn't we try that before?'"

"Yeah, but it didn't work out. I think you got scared," Marik said.

"And you didn't want to hurt me. That was so sweet of you," Malik said, smiling cheerfully.

"I felt so guilty for making you do all that. I still do," Marik said. "Especially when you sucked—."

"Alright! Time for the dance," Bakura said, blushing and walking inside briskly.

"Fine," Marik and Malik said, and Marik gagged Malik again. They walked inside, and were almost immediately kicked out. Bakura and I just had to laugh, since now they had to get new costumes last-minute.

And, now that Bakura and I were alone at the dance, anything was possible.

TBC

Mew: Ooh-la-la. They're alone. At the dance. How romantic and cliché at the same time.

Draiku: Yay for clichés!

Yoko: Agreed. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please R&R! We really appreciate it!


	20. Disappear

Mew: It's chapter twenty! Holy crap. I never thought it would get this far! –dances-

Draiku: And look out, there are future chapters, too.

Mew: Definitely. –huge grin- You'll want to kill me for this chapter, by the way. I guarantee it.

Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Snickers, Wal-Mart, My Chemical Romance, and everything else mentioned on future pages.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 20: Disappear

Bakura and I had gone into the dance as friends, not a couple. It was cheaper to go as a couple, but the school didn't allow same-gender couples. Occasionally one of the more intelligent staff members would be in charge of entrance fees and whatnot, and would allow gay couples in for the reduced price anyway.

"I can't believe that this'll be the last Halloween dance we ever go to," Bakura said, drinking some orange-colored punch. I nodded, picking through a candy bowl for the Snickers.

"Well, unless one of us is held back for not getting all the credits we need, yeah, it is our last one," I replied.

"Crazy how time flies," he said, sighing. I nodded in agreement. After a few minutes of talking and such, Marik and Malik returned. The two were dressed in rather generic-looking costumes, the kind you'd get from Wal-Mart. Marik was a cheap-looking werewolf wearing a My Chemical Romance shirt (with a snarling wolf on it, incidentally), and Malik was a vampire with a sheet for a cape and those cheap plastic fangs.

"Oh…my," Bakura mumbled, staring. Marik and Malik were, to say the least, pissed.

"I can't believe it," Marik growled in a very werewolf-like fashion. "Our two greatest costumes ever and we can't even wear them."

"Yeff," Malik said with a sigh, his speech slightly distorted by the fangs. "Can I dake dese out?" he said, looking to Marik.

"Sure, actually, you'd better. You're drooling all over," he replied. Malik sighed and took them out, dropping them into the trash can.

"Yeah, it sucks," he said. "We hand-made those, you know."

"I feel really sorry for you two," I said. Marik just shrugged.

"We'll survive. It's not like we were murdered or beaten half to death and raped or something," he said. "But now we'll be remembered as 'those idiots who dressed all shitty like at the Halloween dance that one year' instead of 'those sexy guys who were into BDSM .'"

"You'd rather be known as BDSM perverts?" Bakura said. Marik and Malik nodded.

"Better than being the idiots," Malik said. "Oh well. Let's dance, Marik." He and Marik grinned, going to the dance floor together. Bakura and I were left alone again, still at that damned punch bowl.

"There's Mana and Shizuka," Bakura said. "Should we go say hi?" I nodded, and we walked over to them.

"How's it going?" Mana asked, grinning at us. I shrugged.

"Pretty good," I replied. "How are you two?"

"Great!" Shizuka said with a grin. She suddenly paused, and looked confused. "Was that Marik and Malik in the BDSM getup, by the way?" Bakura and I nodded.

"Yeah. They had to change, so now they're dressing as a generic werewolf and cheap vampire," Bakura explained, motioning towards them with his head while they danced together.

"Oh! You cut your hair, Bakura!" Mana exclaimed, clearly surprised. Then again, he _did_ look a lot different with his hair short. Bakura laughed, running a hand through it.

"Yeah, well, Ryou cut it for me. I think it looks great, actually," he said.

"It does! You should totally cut it for him again, Ryou," Mana said. "Anyway, Shizuka and I are gonna go dance. See you two!" They walked to the dancing floor, and Bakura and I were left alone once again. I almost offered to dance with him, but something told me that I shouldn't.

So we spent the rest of the dance just standing and talking. Not my idea of fun, but at least we were with each other. I saw Malik step out for a moment, and never come back in. Marik hadn't noticed, since he was busy stuffing himself at the snack table. Finally, I decided to bring it up to him.

"Have you seen Malik?" I asked, touching his shoulder. He blinked.

"He left just a bit ago to get some air."

"How long ago was that?" I replied. He paused.

"Um…about thirty minutes."

"I think that he'd be inside by now," I explained.

"Alright. Let's go check on him. Coming, Bakura?" Marik said. Bakura nodded and we went outside to see what Malik was up to. When we didn't see him right away, we got worried. When we saw that he wasn't on the school grounds at all, we got even more worried. But what really set off the little red flags in our minds was the fact that Malik's car was still here.

"Oh god," Marik whispered softly. "Is he missing? Please tell me he isn't."

"I think he is," Bakura said. Marik cringed a little at the words.

"Fuck," he said. "Fuck, no he's not. He can't possibly be missing. Malik! Where the hell are you? Answer me already! Please?" he yelled. We didn't hear anything for a while, and that's when we piled into the car and began searching.

"Should I call the police?" Marik asked, sitting in the back of my car. I nodded.

"It's probably not a big deal, but go ahead. He may've went to a gas station to grab something," I said. Bakura looked out his window, searching, while I looked to the front, and Marik called the cops.

"Hello, my friend is missing," Marik started. Pause. "We were at a Halloween dance party at our high school, and he went outside to get some air. I stayed inside, and thirty minutes passed. We haven't seen him since then, and he just disappeared. His car was still in the parking lot and everything." Another pause. "He has longish blonde hair, tan skin, violet eyes, and he's wearing a cheap vampire cloak made from a black sheet. Under that he has a black shirt and black pants, and black boots. He has lots of piercings, several on his ears, a couple on his eyebrows. His name's Malik Ishtar. M-A-L-I-K, and then, I-S-H-T-A-R. Should we keep looking for him? Okay. Alright. Thanks, bye." He hung up. "They're going to do a search for him."

"Good," Bakura said. "Hey! Isn't that his cloak?" He pointed out the window, and I stopped the car. We rushed out to examine it, and sure enough, it was his cloak. It was tattered, and slightly wet in a couple areas. Marik touched the wet stuff and licked it.

"Blood," he hissed, and cursed.

"It could be anyone's," I quickly said. "Chances are it isn't his." He nodded, though he still didn't seem reassured. We took the cloak into the car and turned on the light to look it over. There were old cigarette ashes on it, rips, and, of course, blood.

"You don't think he was kidnapped, right?" Marik said.

"Marik, it could be anyone's blood. Who knows, this might not even be Malik's," Bakura said gently, but a little sharply at the same time. He was worried, too. We all were. "Come on. Let's keep looking in that area. See if we find something else." I nodded and we got out again, leaving the cloak, and searched the ground, trees, bushes, anything.

"Found something!" I suddenly yelled. I picked it up, inspecting it. It was a silver, round hoop. It seemed familiar, at least. Marik rushed over and gasped.

"That's Malik's earring!" he exclaimed. I looked closer, and saw that there was a little piece of skin on it, where the pin of the earring would go through the piercing. I dropped it to the sidewalk, clapping a hand over my mouth. To say the least, I felt like I was going to hurl. That was _definitely_ Malik's skin on there. It was only a small bit, but it was the same shade. Marik picked it up and saw the same thing. He gritted his teeth, cleaned it off on his shirt, and stuck the earring into his pocket.

"Oh god. Please let him be okay," he whispered, like he was praying or something. "Please. That's all I ask. Please don't let him be hurt more than this. Please." We searched a while longer, but found nothing else except a cigarette butt. We discarded it, and it got late. Way past one in the morning. Marik, Bakura, and I, exhausted, decided to head home. Marik was still extremely worried, and insisted that we keep looking, but Bakura and I convinced him that it would be easier when it was light outside. He reluctantly agreed.

"I really hope that Malik's okay," I said softly while Bakura and I snuck inside. Bakura nodded.

"Same here. And it's way past your curfew, by the way,"

"That's right," my dad said. He'd been standing right in front of us the whole time. "Now tell me what happened." So we had to sit down and explain what had happened after Malik disappeared. It took a while, since he didn't believe us at all. Finally, after we showed him the cloak Marik had left in my car, he was convinced.

"I see," he said. "Did you report it to the police?" We nodded. "Good. It's probably not a big deal, and he'll be back by tomorrow, alive and well." I bit my lip, still unsure. Something told me that nothing was going to be alright at all.

-

Like I'd suspected, Malik wasn't in school the next day. Marik was worried all day, and sometimes lost his train of thought and wandered into the wrong class.

"Marik," I told him during lunch, "listen to me. Malik will be just fine, I promise." Marik sighed, his face blank.

"Somehow, I just don't believe you," he said, shaking his head slowly.

"You did tell his brother and sister, right?" Bakura asked. Marik nodded.

"Yeah. They're looking for him right now, actually," he replied. He cringed and gritted his teeth. "What if he's--?"

"Stop thinking whatever you're thinking," Bakura said quickly. "Don't think too much about it. You should focus on something else. Something that doesn't worry you."

"Everything makes me think of Malik, though," Marik said softly. "Even math. He always helped me with my math homework when we were in elementary school."

"Then try not thinking at all?" I suggested. He groaned, putting his arms on the table and resting his head in them.

"You're face-flat in your food," Bakura said.

"Shut up. I'm trying to not think here," Marik replied. Bakura and I sighed. Seeing Marik like this was even worse than the time he and Malik broke up. He kept his head in his lunch for a long time, even after the bell rang. Finally, after the late bell, he got up and went to wash his face off. It was really depressing to watch.

Throughout the rest of the day, Bakura, Mana, Shizuka, and I tried to cheer him up a little. It didn't work at all. He just stayed silent.

Finally, we split up and Bakura and I headed to gym. During class, Kaiba kept winking at me. It disturbed me, even though I knew it was his alter ego. Finally, I decided to confront him, and pretended to ask a question about the game.

"I missed you, Ryou," the other personality said with a lecherous grin. "But why are you getting so close? I think you would've learned from our last encounter."

"I'm sure that you won't," I replied with a glare. "You wouldn't molest me in front of everyone. For one thing, you'd lose your job. Or Kaiba's job. Do you even have a name?"

"I call myself Seth. Seto, however, doesn't know that." 

"How do you get Seth, a really American name, out of Seto Kaiba, which sounds Japanese?" I asked. He shrugged.

"It fitted me."

"Right. What exactly do you want from me, anyway?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Your ass," he replied. "Your _virgin_ ass." Seth licked his lips like a true pedophile. Though disturbed, an idea suddenly came to my mind.

"How do you know I'm virgin?" I asked with a slight smirk.

"It's obvious. You have no girlfriend or boyfriend, and you're the shy kid that has very few friends," Seth replied.

"Still, that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm virgin. You never know, really. Hell, I've probably had sex with three different people," I said. He narrowed his eyes, starting to get suspicious. I don't seem like the type to, but I love mind games.

"Oh really. Who is it?" he said, obviously referring to the person I'd "lost my virginity" to.

"See that guy over there?" I said.

"Yami?" Seth replied.

"No, the one next to him. Sorta short, white hair? Yeah, I lost my virginity to Bakura," I said, my voice lowered. Yeah, I _wish_ that I had, but he bought it.

"You're joking," he said.

"No, I'm not," I replied. In a sense, it was a win-win situation. He couldn't get any proof, not from me, not from Bakura. If he asked Bakura, Bakura would see it as sexual harassment and report it to some higher official. The principal, probably. Obviously there was no documentation on who had sex with whom. I was safe, as long as I kept a straight face.

Seth seemed upset, to say the least. I guess that non-virgin high school students were a turn-off for him. Which was good for me, since that's what I currently "was."

"Well," he said softly. "How about you just go back to playing basketball, okay?" I nodded.

"Thank you, Mr. Kaiba," I said, faking an innocent smile. I quickly left, grabbed a ball, and practiced shooting some hoops. All the while, Seth seethed in the distance.

-

Three days had passed since Malik went missing. So far, the police station had had no luck finding him. Marik was staying at home each day, or going out to look for him during school. It was a bad situation for both of them.

"Hello, Malik, this is Ryou. We're _still_ looking for you, and Marik's totally depressed, so you'd better show up soon, alright? Call me back, bye," I said, leaving a message on his cell phone. I constantly wished that he'd pick up just _once_. "No luck," I said, looking to Bakura, Marik, Mana, and Shizuka. Yugi had offered to help as well, and had been for the last couple of days, but today he was ill.

"Dammit," Marik said, and his shoulders slumped. We continued to drive around town in Shizuka's father's sixties-styled van. It felt a lot like Scooby Doo, actually, and we occasionally made jokes about it. Mana and Shizuka made good Velmas, since they were smarter than Daphne, and constantly thought of different places Malik could be.

"Hey," Shizuka said, pointing out the window at something silver hanging from a tree. "What's that? I think I've seen Malik wearing it before."

"Holy crap, that's his favorite necklace!" Marik said, jumping out of the van and rushing towards it. "This is definitely it!" he yelled to us. "He's been here! Or someone who's seen him has!"

"Great!" I replied. "Let's look around this area, then." We got out and scouted the area for anything at all—footsteps, torn clothing, discarded paper, things like that. Marik fondled the necklace and clicked it open. Evidently, it was some sort of gothic locket. He blinked, finding a folded piece of paper in it. We noticed, and hurried over to look. Marik just kept staring at the note, stunned. Bakura took it from his hands and read over it.

"It says, 'Looking for someone?'" he read aloud.

"That's not Malik's handwriting. Someone else wrote that note. And that's Malik's necklace! I had it custom-made for him on his sixteenth birthday!" Marik said, growing anxious. "I knew it! Someone kidnapped him!" Bakura kept staring at the note.

"There's some sort of map," he said softly. "See, it starts right here and leads to the downtown area. There's even a time and date set four days from now! Someone's obviously making fun of this." He glared and fisted a hand.

"We should go there now," Mana suggested.

"They most likely won't be there right now," I said. "Think about it. They know that the first thing we'd do is go to the place they want us to go as soon as we find the note. Obviously, they won't be there. They'll only laugh harder if we go. Right, Marik?" No answer. "Marik?" I looked to his spot, and saw that he was gone. "Marik, come back!" I yelled, seeing him take off in the direction of the place specified on the note.

"I need to go now," Marik mumbled, somewhat incoherent. Bakura and I had to drag him back to the van while he screamed something about saving Malik and whatnot. It was heartbreaking, and I hated doing this to him. But if he went now, who knows what would happen? It was best to wait.

We silently drove home, except for Marik, who sobbed the whole way back.

-

Four days had passed, and it was five hours until the specified time on the note. We decided to prepare with aluminum bats and such, just in case we had to fight. Obviously, we couldn't bring guns. Bakura said that his dad was once a criminal (which came as no surprise to me) and never used guns, because they were too loud, even with silencers. Plus, we didn't have any readily available. Bakura had several switchblades, and each of us got one. We'd even convinced Jou to come, since he was strong, and actually happened to like Malik's debates in class. Kaiba pulled away from his work, took some medication to keep Seth from "coming out", and joined us as well. Mana and Shizuka would stay in the van for when we came out with him, just in case we had to run. Plus, they had no fighting experience. Even I had fought bullies and jerks in my middle school days.

During the drive there, we made up excuses ahead of time in case cops stopped us. Kaiba was Jou's "dad" who was joining us in a quick game of baseball. We even had fake names, and wigs and glasses. It would work perfectly. Best of all, Marik was an expert at wigs and such since he and Malik had played "dress-up" when they were in Kindergarten together. He seemed embarrassed to admit it, but I didn't blame him. I, personally, would _never_ admit that I'd played dress-up too.

"Alright, we have bats, switchblades, wigs, glasses, and some mitts and balls. We're prepared," Shizuka said, reading off her list of items. She was a very organized person.

"Good. Let's get going," Marik said darkly. He was ready for a fight, and looked like he was even ready to kill if he had to. We drove to the specified address and mentally prepared ourselves.

Operation "Save Malik" had begun.

TBC

Mew: I think it went pretty quickly, but by page five I got impatient.

Draiku: Yes, you did. You were muttering, "Please let it be done please let it be done please let it be done," over and over again.

Mew: Yeah. I know. –sweatdrop-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! We hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to R&R, as always!


	21. Rescue

Mew: And now to keep you all from going insane about the previous chapter.

Draiku: On your profile it says that I'M the sadistic one. I'm starting to doubt that.

Mew: -ignores and acts innocent- Also, thanks SO much for over 300 reviews!! I never thought it would make it that far! Thanks again!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh because the characters would have sex too much, and thus banned from television.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 21: Rescue

The spot where Malik was supposed to be ended up being a huge, abandoned building, probably an old apartment complex in its days. There was a yellowed piece of paper in one of the broken windows reading "UP FOR SALE: CALL". The numbers had been ripped off long ago. Scattered amongst the stoop of the building were several empty beer bottles, syringes, and Fritos bags. The building itself was rather tall. On the top there were pigeons roosting, and some flew into broken windows, which were abundant. The top left corner of the roof was broken and bricks fell from it every now and then. Rats squeaked and scurried across the cement and into trashcans and allies.

Overall, it wasn't a very nice place.

The rest of the neighborhood was just as bad, I might want to put in.

"Remember to lock the doors, and keep them locked until you see us coming out," Bakura advised Mana and Shizuka. "Don't make a noise if someone comes. Hide in the back if you have to." They nodded, and Mana put on a stern face and held Shizuka close.

"I won't let anything happen to you," she murmured, and kissed her gently. Shizuka nodded and they locked all the doors.

"Also, keep the windows rolled up, too. If you need fresh air, open it a small crack. Be sure to act quick if someone comes by with a hanger and tries to unlock the door through the window, alright?" Bakura continued. He clearly had experience with this.

"So we're basically going to storm the place?" Kaiba said, eyeing the building. I nodded.

"Yeah. If you have to, call Seth, but only if you're in trouble. I imagine that he could help out a lot," I advised, surprising Kaiba, as well as myself.

"Why him?" Kaiba asked.

"He seems more experienced than you when it comes to fighting and such," I replied.

"Who's Seth?" Jou asked.

"And old friend of mine. We barely keep in touch, but he's somehow always there for me even when I don't want him around," Kaiba replied.

"Let's go," Marik said, walking towards the building. The rest of us followed and snuck in quietly. The inside of the building was even worse than the outside. It smelled strongly of urine, alcohol, drugs, and other stenches that couldn't be named. All the lights except a few were burned out, and the floors creaked. Dust covered everything, but that made footsteps visible. That small detail really came in handy, so we didn't have to search the entire place.

"Maybe one o' us should stay back wit' th' girls," Jou suggested softly.

"I think that Mana can handle at least two men pretty easily," I replied.

"How would you know?" Bakura asked.

"I dated her. Remember? She's actually really strong. Plus, we left them with switchblades," I explained.

"But my sister's still out dere! What if more 'n two guys come?" Jou said.

"You and Shizuka are related?" Kaiba asked, obviously surprised. Jou nodded.

"Well, she lives wit' m' mom an' I live wit' m' dad, so we gots different last names," he said.

"I never would've guessed," Kaiba muttered. "But they'll be fine. If we come back and they're hurt, you can beat me with one of the bats if you want."

"A'right, but you'd better be keepin' yer word," Jou said.

"I promise," Kaiba said, "and to me, a promise is like an oath."

"Good." We continued upstairs, and arrived at the top floor. The footsteps ended right before a carpet leading down a dark hallway.

"Crap," Marik said, biting his lip. "We don't have enough light. They'll probably attack us."

"Alright then, we'll just have to counter," Bakura said. "You may want to take out any piercings you have, by the way. This could get absolutely hideous."

"You can just say 'ugly'," Jou said.

"Fine. This could get ugly," Bakura replied. He removed the piercings from his ears and eyebrow, while Marik did the same. Jou, Kaiba, and I didn't have any to worry about. The only thing I was concerned about was my hair. It was long, so it could be pulled easily. Obviously that put me at a disadvantage.

"Alright, let's get in position," Bakura said. "I'll go first. Ryou, you're last, since you're weakest. Kaiba, you're after me, then Jou, then Marik. Kaiba and Marik, stand facing my right. Jou and Ryou, stand facing my left. We'll walk this way down the hall so we can see what's coming on all sides. Be ready." We nodded and lined up, and made our way down the hallway. Nothing happened, and for a second I thought we were being tricked.

I was wrong.

"ATTACK!" a teen yelled, jumping at me. Several others jumped out of the shadows. They seemed surprised, as if they'd only expected one or two people. But at least we had the advantage that way.

The teen who jumped at me was holding a switchblade, and threatened me with it. I gasped, gritting my teeth, and swung the aluminum bat at him. It hit his head dead-on, and he flew sideways a few feet. Blood stained his skin, but at least he wasn't a problem anymore.

"Dammit! Why'd so many come??!" someone complained loudly while he threw a punch at Kaiba.

"We're obviously smarter than you idiots," Kaiba replied with a glare, and kneed the kid in his crotch. At that moment, I realized that it wasn't Kaiba, but Seth doing the beating. Which was good, to say the least.

"Damn bastard!" Marik yelled, swinging his fists at a guy wearing baggy jeans, a white tank, and a golden chain around his neck. "Where is he??! Where's Malik??!"

"That dude you're looking for?" the chain guy replied. "He's dead! We killed 'im! He was a good fuck, though!" Marik gasped, frozen stiff.

"Outta the way!" Jou yelled, shoving Marik aside before he could get hit. Jou kicked Chains in the stomach and sent him flying.

On a side note, it amazed me with how powerful these guys were. On another side note, my dad would kill me if he found out where I was.

However, I was just as stunned as Marik was. Malik couldn't be dead, could he? It wasn't possible! And I'd never even gotten to say goodbye or anything. He was my best friend, and now…oh god. It couldn't be true.

"Focus, Ryou!" Bakura snapped. "We'll find Malik. Dead or alive, we'll find him. And if he's dead, I'll murder these bastards." I nodded, and we kept fighting through.

"Ryou, Marik, you two go look for Malik! We'll hold 'em back for you," Kaiba said. Marik and I nodded, and dashed through the people with our switchblades out and ready.

"You check the rooms on the right. I'll check the ones on the left," Marik said. "If he's dead, I'll make sure these guys die and go to Hell, so when I go there I can kill them again and again. If he's hurt, I'll kill them anyway." His teeth were gritted.

"Alright. I'll help you with that, if you want," I offered, completely serious.

"I'll save Chains for you," Marik replied, also completely serious. We hurried into each room and searched the corners, closets, and underneath anything that happened to be in the room. We had no luck at all, until I came into the second-to-last room.

There was Malik, naked from the waist down and bound to a mattress. His eyes were closed, and there were horrible bruises and cuts all over his body. I rushed over and cradled his still body in my arms, staring with wide eyes. He looked…dead. His piercings, every one of them, had been viciously torn out and dropped on the floor beside him. Both of his ears were bleeding, as well as his eyebrows. I noticed no blood from his chest, and guessed that they hadn't taken off his shirt at all.

"Marik?" I called. "I found him." Marik rushed in and let out a cry of pure terror. He grabbed Malik and attempted to wake him up, but it was a complete failure. Malik didn't respond at all. Not one bit. His eyelids didn't even twitch. Chains was telling the truth. They really _had_ killed Malik.

"Oh god," Bakura said, stepping into the room. Clearly, they'd beaten up all the punks and needed to see what had happened. Marik sobbed and clutched Malik tightly, begging for him to wake up in a whisper. It was too much for me to handle. I turned away, closing my eyes. Kaiba, who'd taken Seth's place once again, clutched Jou's shoulder with his mouth open in shock. Bakura fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around me so he wouldn't fall face-flat on the floor. Normally I would've thought about how nice it felt, but dear god. My best friend had just died by the hands of some worthless bastards who had no right to live. I held onto Bakura as well and sobbed into his shoulder. He cried as well, just not so loudly. The tears just slid down his face.

"Marik," Kaiba said, stepping forward and gently touching his shoulder. "Let's go. Before they wake up." Marik gritted his teeth, but nodded. He and Bakura helped to put Malik's pants back on for him. However, Marik handed Malik's still body to Bakura.

"Hold onto him for a second," he said, his eyes dark. He left the room, switchblade clutched in a hand, and returned a few minutes later. The switchblade, once clean, was bloody. He wiped it off on an old curtain and put his blade away, then took Malik again. We walked out of the room, and I saw that Marik had slashed the wrists of each of the punks there. If they didn't wake up, they'd die. And something told me that they'd die, based on how many slashes Marik had made and how deep they were. I was confident that the bodies would never be found. In a neighborhood like this, anyone passing the building was used to the stench of rot.

-

Marik held Malik's body all the way to my house. We didn't know where else to go, and my place was the closest. At least something good had happened to Mana and Shizuka. A few punks had attacked them, but they fought back and defeated them easily. When we arrived, Mai came outside first, saw Malik in Marik's arms, and immediately walked over.

"Is he…" she said softly.

"Yeah," Marik replied in a mumble.

"Let me see his hand a second," Mai said. She gently took Malik's hand and touched his wrist. "You idiots." She muttered. We all blinked, staring at her. "You didn't even check his pulse! He's alive!" Everyone gasped, naturally. "Quick, he needs medical attention. Scoot over, What's-yer-face! I'm driving! Ryou, you call dad on your cell and tell him I'm taking Malik to the hospital." I nodded and Kaiba scooted over so Mai could drive. We rushed there while I called dad. Of course, he asked a lot of questions, and I tried to answer them. It was kind of hard, considering that Mai was driving like a complete and total maniac.

Finally, we arrived at the Emergency Entrance at the nearest hospital. We rushed inside, and Malik was taken away. Marik stared down the hallway for a moment, and we all seated ourselves in the waiting room. Ten minutes later, a nurse came out. He stood in front of Mai and Kaiba, probably assuming that they were Malik's guardians or something.

"He's in critical condition," the nurse explained. "You see, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything in the past few days, and he's suffered a lot of blood loss. Just curious, is he the boy who went missing about a week ago?"

"Yes," Marik said. "We…found him behind a dumpster in the park."

"I see. Do you have any idea what happened to him, so we can perform necessary tests and treatment?" the nurse asked, looking to him.

"…No," Marik replied. "But if you think you need to treat something, treat it."

"Alright. The doctors are currently stabilizing his body so he won't have to stay in the ICU tonight. With any luck, he'll be awake by morning," the nurse said.

"By morning?" Marik asked.

"He needs lots of rest. His body has been put under extreme stress," the nurse said. Marik nodded.

"Alright. Thanks," he said. The nurse nodded and returned to the ICU where Malik was being held. Bakura gently put an arm around Marik's shoulders to comfort him, and I took Marik's hand. He was quivering slightly.

"I want to stay until Malik wakes up," Marik said softly. "I'm not leaving until I see him open his eyes."

"Fine by us, Marik. We'll stay with you," I said. He murmured his thanks, and at least an hour more passed before the nurse returned.

"Which one of you is Marik?" he said.

"I am," Marik replied, standing.

"Come with me. Malik keeps saying your name in his sleep, and I think that if you speak to him he'll wake up. That typically happens," the nurse said. Marik's eyes brightened a bit. "Also, we'll have to cover some things with you about what we found on Malik's body." Marik nodded.

"Alright," he said, and the nurse began leading him to Malik's room. "Wait," Marik said. "I want Ryou to come, too." I blinked. Why me?

"Well, we can't have--," the nurse said.

"I don't care. Ryou is Malik's best friend, and in case Malik doesn't wake up, I want Ryou there," Marik said sternly. The nurse looked at me, then Marik, then sighed.

"Alright. Just don't tell any of the others," he said. I followed them, and we came to Malik's room. I peered into the window, half-expecting him to be wired up to life support machines. However, my friend was sleeping peacefully, an IV in his wrist. A heart monitor beeped quietly every second or so. I could see Malik's chest rising and falling, which made me sigh with relief.

"First, let me go over what we found," the nurse said, and we looked to him. "Many of his piercings were ripped out, obviously. The two on his nipples were still there, but the piercings there were bleeding, but not very much at all. The doctor believed that they'd been tugged or pulled very roughly. He had cuts on his body, obviously made by a knife or razor. There were some deep cuts on his abdomen, but we closed those. If he's ever moving, make sure that he doesn't stretch too much.

"Of course, he had many bruises, and those will take a while to heal. There was a considerable amount of bruising on his backside, and we found tears in his rectum. Among the tears we found traces of semen, leading us to believe he was raped," the nurse finished. Marik and I both gasped, eyes wide. Marik gritted his teeth and fisted his hands, and looked away. I was too stunned to move. "We're testing his blood for any STDs he may have received, so until we get the results please do not get his blood on you."

"Can I see him now?" Marik whispered.

"Yes. You both may go in," the nurse said. He opened the door for us and we stepped inside. Malik was still asleep, but the door shutting made him stir a little. Marik sat down in the chair next to his bed and gazed at him. He gently took Malik's hand in his own, and Malik slowly opened his eyes. Marik managed a weak smile, tears gathering in his eyes now.

"Marik," Malik murmured, smiling feebly. "I…"

"Ssh," Marik replied. "Don't speak. You need to rest." Malik sighed and gazed at the ceiling through exhausted eyes. He paused a moment, before speaking again, despite what Marik said.

"Do I still look nice? Without the piercings?" he asked. I was stunned. After all this, he was most concerned about how he _looked_??! Malik amazed me sometimes. But he was completely serious. I could tell when he looked at Marik. Marik just smiled at him.

"Malik, you've always looked beautiful, you still do, and you always will," he replied. "You're perfect in every single way." He gently kissed Malik's fingers, some of which were bandaged. Malik smiled, truly happy, and nodded a little.

"Good," he said. Marik gently stroked his face with the backs of his fingers.

"My lovely little Malik," he whispered. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Sorry for going," Malik muttered.

"It wasn't your fault." Malik gestured with a finger to Marik, who climbed into the bed and held him in his arms. As far as they were concerned, I didn't exist. All that mattered to them was each other, and I was happy for that. It was clear that they truly loved each other more than anything else in the world. In the universe, most likely. And before they'd have to face the truth that Malik had been raped and was facing the danger of HIV or other STDs, they had a moment of peace to just be happy and with each other. They had a moment to be in love.

Malik wrapped one arm, the one without the IV, around Marik's torso and pulled closer to him. He closed his eyes, smiled, and Marik stroked his hair.

"I'm not going to let anyone touch you again," Marik promised.

"I'm never going to leave you again," Malik replied.

I quietly snuck out of the room and returned to our little group. Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

"How'd it go?" Bakura asked. I was unsure of what to tell them at first.

"I shouldn't tell you what the nurse said about Malik's condition. But he's awake, and he's talking and cuddling with Marik in there," I said. Everyone sighed, relieved.

"We should probably call Isis and Rishid, right?" Shizuka asked.

"Yes, definitely. Let them know that Malik's in the ICU now with Marik, and that he's awake and talking," Bakura said. Shizuka nodded and dialed the number into her phone. She informed them with the basics—that Malik was in the ICU, but he was awake, and which hospital he was in.

Rishid and Isis arrived a few minutes later, just as Marik came out of Malik's room. My friend seemed extremely depressed.

"Can you tell us what happened to him?" Rishid asked Marik.

"I asked him. He was silent for a long time, and finally he started sobbing uncontrollably. I think…just go talk to that nurse over there. He'll explain what they found," Marik replied softly. He sat next to me and put his head in his hands, sighing. Meanwhile, Isis and Rishid spoke to the nurse. Their expressions grew pained and horrified as the nurse kept speaking.

"Marik?" I said, looking to him again. He sighed.

"Dammit. I should've went outside with him," he whispered. "It's all my fault, isn't it?"

"It's never your fault!" Mai said, standing up. Marik blinked, looking to her. I was a little shocked as well. "You never could have known that this would happen! You didn't _want_ it to happen! So how could it possibly be your fault??!" she demanded. Marik blinked again, staring.

"Well, I--," he started.

"No, never put the blame on yourself for this. It wasn't you who made those guys do that. It was them who decided to," Mai said. "Understand?" Marik paused, and nodded. "Good," she said.

Two days passed, and Malik was finally released from the hospital. He wasn't the same at school at all. In fact, he was very jittery, and wouldn't let anyone touch him, except Marik. And even then it was just simple things, like holding hands, linking arms. The most he did was hug Marik, and Malik always made the first move. If you were going to touch his shoulder or something, you had to warn him, first. Otherwise, he'd yelp and jump about three feet into the air.

"Can I kiss you today?" Marik asked Malik, who was clutching his arm tightly. Malik nodded slowly, and Marik gently kissed his cheek. Malik sighed and kissed him back as well. "Why don't you ever let me kiss your lips?" Marik asked. Malik sighed.

"What if I have HIV or something? My lips are chapped, and bleeding a little. If you get my blood in your mouth, you'll get whatever I have!" he said, looking worried. Marik sighed.

"I'd be fine with that," he said.

"No, you wouldn't!" Malik insisted, almost shouting and startling us all. He looked away. "I don't want you to suffer." Marik sighed, gently nudging his hand first, then taking it into his own.

Things were very different, to say the least.

TBC

Mew: -kills self for making Malik be raped-

Draiku: -assists- Badass Boyfriend will never be updated again because Mew just killed herself.

Mew: -comes back to life, as always-

Draiku: …Damn.

Mew: Yay for reincarnation! Anyway… -runs from angry readers-

Yoko: You two are freaks. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please be sure to R&R if you have time!


	22. Tests

Mew: So. The last chapter was a bit depressing. This one is rather melancholy.

Draiku: That's a funny word.

Mew: It's old skool, no duh. –nodnod-

Draiku: …idiot.

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns NOTHING even RELATING to Yu-Gi-Oh. How many times must she say this??!

_This chapter is dedicated to Mario B. He was a great singer, and an even better friend. He will be missed immensely._

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 22: Tests

A few weeks passed before Malik could finally speak about what happened to him without breaking down into tears. Now it was early December, and he was willing to tell us everything. Until now, all we knew was that he'd tested negative for any STDs out there, which was excellent and put him in a better mood. Since he'd gotten the results back, he'd stopped clinging to Marik as much, and wasn't as suspicious of people anymore. As for Bakura and I, we were still "brotherly", I suppose. At least Seth wasn't bothering me any more. Now he was after Jou.

"So what did they tell you when you were being kidnapped?" Bakura asked Malik while we sat in Marik's living room. Malik sighed, sounding depressed, and Marik gently squeezed his hand.

"They said that they kidnapped me because of the outfit I wore earlier, with the BDSM stuff. They thought that I would be a good…bed slave, I suppose," Malik murmured. Marik gasped. Evidently, he hadn't heard any of this before.

"Those costumes were my idea," he whispered. "Oh, god. It was my fault." He cried softly, and Malik gently hugged him.

"No it wasn't. I shouldn't have gone outside. Don't blame yourself," he whispered. Once Marik had stopped crying, Malik continued. "After they took me to that building, they tore off all my clothing, and tied me to the bed. One guy, the leader, I think, ripped out my piercings while the other guys stood around me and masturbated." Marik cringed, and Malik frowned a little at nothing. The rest of us, Mana, Shizuka, Bakura, Jou (he'd joined our little group somehow), and I gasped or shook our heads in disbelief.

"Then what?" Jou asked.

"Then…the main guy raped me. One guy made me blow him, and then some other guy raped me while the leader was, too," Malik said softly, his face twitching a little bit. "All I could think about was the pain. It was…just everywhere, basically. And it lasted for hours. They all took turns. Now that I think about it, I was really lucky not to get HIV, wasn't I? Any of them could've had it."

"I'm so glad you didn't get it," Mana murmured. Marik clutched Malik's hand tightly, probably more for himself than Malik.

"Me, too," Malik replied. "They just left me there, tied up, while they snorted cocaine or something. A while later, they left and came back with knives and bats and stuff. One guy hit me with his belt, while another cut me. The guy with the bat hit the bottom of my feet over and over, and one guy punched my face. The leader told the guy punching me to stop, since he didn't want my face ruined or something. After that, I just sort of blacked out. When I woke up again, I knew they'd raped me again because it just hurt so bad down there." He cringed a little, and a tear formed in one eye.

"That's horrible," I whispered. Marik was crying into a hand at this point. Malik gently comforted him, and continued again.

"It was like that for a long time, and finally one day, I just blacked out and stayed blacked out. I guess that they thought I'd died, which is why they told you that. The last thing I remember after blacking out was hearing Marik trying to wake me up," he said, looking to Marik sadly. "I was scared that I wouldn't, because he was sobbing so much. Then I woke up in the hospital. I was so glad to see him, I'd practically forgotten what had happened." He smiled and put his hand on Marik's.

"How can you even talk about this now?" Shizuka asked. Malik shrugged.

"I just wanted to move on. It wasn't easy, and I still have nightmares. I probably always will. But I have a wedding to look forward to, and I won't let this ruin it," he said. "I kept telling myself, 'Why should I let some jerks ruin my entire life?' Then they'd get what they wanted all along. They'd have total control over me. I didn't want that. So I had to push the memories away like they were nothing. It worked, I guess."

This was one reason Malik was my best friend. He was strong. Back in kindergarten, on our first day of school, someone was being an idiot and pushing me around. Malik stuck up for me, and that's when we became friends. Ever since then I'd always looked up to him. Now my respect for him grew even more. If I had been in his situation, I would've still been sitting in the corner of my room and sobbing even now.

Marik, though he was still crying a bit, looked at Malik.

"I was so scared. I thought you'd died," he murmured. "Then what would I do?" Malik shrugged.

"I don't know, what would you do?" he asked. Marik chuckled a bit.

"I'd die. Simple as that," he said.

Whenever Marik mentioned something like that, I wondered if some day, if Bakura and I were ever to get together, he would say the same thing about me. I definitely would say that about him, and truly mean it.

We continued talking with Malik and Marik, until it finally got late and we all headed home.

-

"Well," the principal said at our latest assembly, "as all you upperclassmen know, our semester finals are this week." Everyone, including me, groaned. Semester finals meant studying your ass off until around five in the morning. Then you'd have to take a _huge_ test over, typically, _everything_ you'd learned throughout the entire semester. Very rarely did we get a test that went over the last unit.

"So," the principal continued, ignoring our disappointment, "you'll each get a sheet with your grades listed on it, and we'll give you the option to opt out of the exams for the classes you have an A in," she said. I perked up a bit. Last year, we were only able to opt out of four classes. But this year, it was any of them, possibly all of them? That would mean that the only class I'd have to take was Science, in which I had a B+. I looked to Marik and Malik, who also looked pretty glad, but Bakura seemed anxious.

"The exemption forms will be handed out in your homeroom classes," the principal finished. "Fill them out, and bring them back by Wednesday." Everyone left the assembly hall, and I headed to my homeroom. Soon enough, we got our exemption forms. I filled it out, and signed my name at the bottom. All I had to do now was get dad's signature, as well as the teachers'. As usual, my homeroom teacher didn't really care where everyone went during this period, so I went to get it signed. The week looked better than ever, now.

-

"Are you okay?" I asked Bakura when I returned home. I saw a note on the door saying that Mai and dad would be out for the rest of the day. Dad had several lessons to teach, and Mai was visiting an old friend from nursing school.

"I…don't think that I'm going to graduate," he murmured. I blinked.

"Are you failing some classes?" I asked.

"A couple of them," he replied. "The rest I have Ds in. The only one that I'm actually doing well in is my Shop class. That one I have an A+ in."

"Well, that's something."

"But my GPA is extremely low right now. I doubt I'll even go to college," he whispered. I sat next to him in his room. He was definitely really depressed. "You know, my dad was right. Why didn't I just quit school? It won't do me any good with my current grades."

"Well, what is your GPA?" I asked. Maybe it wasn't entirely hopeless.

"It's like a 2.6 or something. That's bad for me," he said. I paused a moment to do some math in my head.

"If you get a 4.0 all next semester, you'll get a 3.0 average, I think," I said. "If you don't get that, you'll be extremely close to it." He blinked.

"You're not kidding?" he said. I nodded, but he still seemed depressed. "It's impossible. I could never get a 4.0."

"I'd be willing to help," I offered. He sighed.

"Thanks, but I really don't think that it's possible," he said. I gently touched his shoulder with a hand, frowning at him.

"Don't think that way. I know that you can do it," I replied. He gazed at me a moment, and soon, his face came very close to mine. His lips gently touched my own, and he kissed me. I would've gasped, in fact, I'd planned on gasping and pulling away to make sure he wasn't teasing. However, I couldn't. It was impossible. Something that I'd wanted for so long…there was no way I was going to let it go now. I kissed back, and closed my eyes.

Our kiss became more passionate—fiery, even. He tasted delicious, to say the least. I gripped his shoulders and he gently pushed me to the bed. At that moment, he began to take off my shirt, and I took off his.

The interesting thing about this was that I wasn't freaking out like an idiot. I wasn't even surprised. It felt so normal, but so amazing and fantastic at the same time. I really don't know how to describe it without going on for hours on end. However, in my feeble attempt to shorten it, it felt natural. Like we'd done it before on many occasions. But this was my first time, and probably his, too. How would I know?

"You're beautiful," Bakura whispered into my ear before he took my cock into his hands. I gasped a bit, in pleasure and the pain of wanting to be released.

"I love you," I whimpered in a small voice, stroking him. "I love you."

He didn't say anything back.

-

I woke up around an hour later, naked and sticky from sweat, and a lot more of something else. Bakura was next to me, his hand gently rested atop mine. I was in perfect bliss, total peace. It was almost like enlightenment, until I realized something.

"Oh, fuck!" I yelled, suddenly sitting up. Bakura gasped, surprised, and sat up as well.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Mai and my dad will be here soon! If he finds out we did this…" I said. Bakura paused.

"What? What'll he do?" he asked. He gasped again. "Isn't he like really religious? Will he--??"

"No, no—he won't kick us out or anything. He already knows that I'm gay. Let's just act like nothing happened," I said. We frantically got out of bed and ran to the showers—one connected to my dad's room, and one in the main bathroom. We dried our hair with the hair drier, and quickly dressed in fresh, clean clothing.

"What'll we do about the sheets?" Bakura asked. I paused.

"Let's just throw the blanket over it. They said that they'd be back by nine, and it's eight forty-five. We can't do any laundry or put new sheets on in that amount of time," I said. We hurried to his room, threw the blanket over the spot, and returned to the living room to pretend to do our homework.

"Sorry, but I think you'll have to sleep in that tonight," I said meekly. He shook his head, pretending not to take notice.

"No biggie. We should be worrying about Mai and your dad," he said. I nodded, agreeing, and the doorbell rang.

"Here they are! Keep a straight face," I whispered. Mai and my dad walked in, looking at us strangely. The first thought that ran through my head was, _They know! Dear god, somehow they figured us out! I confess! I confess to having gay sex with Bakura while you weren't home! Just don't kill me! Please!!_

"You two sure are focused in your homework," Mai commented.

"Finals are coming up so we have to be!" I blurted. Mai and dad seemed startled.

"Are you okay?" dad asked. "You sound nervous."

"I'm fine! Just dandy! Couldn't be better!" I replied quickly. _Dandy…??!_ I added as an afterthought. They both stared at me.

"Dandy, eh?" my dad said. "Well, we'll be in the kitchen. You two keep studying." They left, and when they were gone, Bakura and I heaved a sigh of relief.

"They can't know," I whispered to him. He nodded in agreement.

"Can you not tell anyone at school? Please?" he asked. I nodded. Frankly, it was a little embarrassing, though at the same time extremely _cool_, to tell people that Bakura and I had jerked off each other.

"Don't worry," I said. "No one will know." He nodded, even more relieved. We studied for a bit longer, while dad went upstairs and Mai fixed herself something in the kitchen. I went into the kitchen for some coffee (probably to help me cool down a bit), and she grabbed my arm and tugged me close. Needless to say, I was quite surprised.

"Did you and Bakura do what I think you did?" she whispered. My eyes widened.

"How did you--!" I exclaimed.

"I thought so. Well, I didn't think you had, but that answered everything," she said. I stared for a long while.

"Please don't tell dad," I whispered.

"Don't worry, I won't, but only if you answer this truthfully," she said. I nodded. "Top, or bottom?" I blinked.

"Why would you want to know?" I asked.

"Just curious. So?"

"We didn't go that far. Just gave each other a hand job, basically," I explained, blushing heavily. She nodded.

"I see. Well, you go," she said. I got my coffee and sat in the living room, when Bakura looked to me.

"When we were…you know…did you really mean all that?" he said. I blinked.

"Mean what?" I asked.

"You, um, said that you loved me," he replied in a hushed voice. I paused for a few seconds. Finally, I blushed and looked away.

"Y-yeah," I replied. "I did mean that."

"You did? But why?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I…guess that it was physical at first, but then when I actually got to know you, I…basically thought you were perfect for me, I suppose," I mumbled, sounding unsure. I couldn't believe that I was telling my crush, whom I'd just had sex with, about my admiration for him. I never had suspected that something like this would happen. I looked to Bakura. He looked…guilty? Almost a little depressed.

"Sorry," he said softly. "I…just wanted to see if I was…you know. Gay. I don't actually have any…feelings for you." My eyes widened for a split second, but I quickly hid my emotions.

"That's alright," I said softly, and forced a chuckle. "My main goal was getting in bed with you." A lie, of course. But it sounded believable. I truly wanted to cry. After I'd had sex with him, after I'd revealed my love for him, he told me that he didn't love me back. That it was only a test.

"Alright," he said softly. "You aren't, well, mad, are you?" I quickly shook my head.

"No, no. I'm not," I said. "So…are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Gay." Bakura paused. He pulled his legs up and hid his head behind his knees.

"I don't know," he mumbled. "How did you know?"

"I always thought boys looked better than girls, I suppose," I replied, shifting a little. "I never really knew until I saw some gay porn on the internet. It was an advertisement, and it was accidental, but I still got a hard-on. Did you…you know…enjoy it? What we did, I mean." He paused again.

"Yeah," he replied. "Well, I had an orgasm, didn't I? So, I must've liked it. I liked touching you, too," he added. Though his face was supposed to be hidden, I saw him blushing heavily.

"Then you're gay, or at least bisexual," I said.

"I think that I'm gay, then. I've always had wet dreams about guys, but never about girls…" he muttered softly. "I just…had to know." I almost wanted to stand up and tell him to use porn, and not people to figure something out like that. Especially if he didn't love me back.

"I understand," I lied, and looked at the clock. "Well, we should probably go to bed." He nodded.

"We have to act completely normal at school tomorrow. Like nothing happened," he said. I nodded. He went to the guest room, while I went upstairs and to my bed. There, I got dressed in some pajamas, crawled under the blanket, and sobbed silently.

TBC

Mew: -shot'd-

Draiku: -holding smoking rifle- You hurt Ryou's feelings, so you had to pay.

Mew: I hate you, you know that? –bleeding all over the freakin' place- BUT WE FINALLY EARNED THE "M" RATING! –screams and faints-

Yoko: -sighs and gets out first aid kit- Well, while I help Mew out, why don't you readers do us a favor and leave a review? It helps Mew heal so she can write faster. –wink-


	23. Confession

Mew: I was evil last chapter. You should be pleased with this one. Or at least, maybe. It depends on your values and morals and… -goes on-

Draiku: Ignore her. She's excited about finally earning that M rating.

Mew: …and religion and who you grew up with…

Draiku: -sighs- Just read the chapter and don't listen to her.

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns nothing to her name. Yu-Gi-Oh included.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 23: Confession

Bakura and I ignored each other in school the next day. He thought it would seem normal, I suppose. I, however, knew that it looked strange. We'd been hanging out a _lot_ lately, and the sudden change was abnormal. People knew that something was up.

"So what happened with you and Bakura?" Marik whispered to me during class. I sighed softly.

"Nothing," I said.

"Liar," he replied. "You can tell me. I won't blab or anything." I looked to him. He was definitely one of my best friends, and I trusted him with my life. If he held a blade to my neck, I wouldn't be scared.

"We…sort of had sex," I said softly. His eyes widened considerably.

"You're kidding. You _have_ to be," he said, chuckling uneasily like I'd made a disturbing joke.

"I'm not," I replied, shaking my head. There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence.

"But if you weren't kidding, you would be walking funny. Malik did after we had sex for the first time," Marik explained.

"We didn't go that far," I said. "Just…mutual masturbation, I suppose." I blushed.

"Just that?" Marik said, raising his eyebrows. "But that's boring." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Your first time with Bakura, and all you do is touch each other? No sucking or fucking? You've _got_ to be kidding me. Well, next time you do it, you'd better go all-out."

"There won't be a next time," I mumbled softly. Marik blinked, confused.

"What are you talking about?" he said. I looked away, almost ready to cry.

"I…don't want to talk about it," I whispered. "Maybe later."

"Alright." The bell rang, and Marik and I left class.

-

At lunch that day, Bakura didn't sit with me. I felt strangely abandoned, though I knew that I shouldn't feel that way. We'd just done it on a muse—it was never meant to be. Our togetherness, I mean.

"I'm so sorry, Ryou," Malik murmured, putting his hand on mine. "That was horrible of him." I shrugged.

"It's…it's over now. Just…don't let him know that I told you guys. Please," I muttered.

"Ryou, he _used_ you!" Marik said sternly. "You can't let him get away with that. You pretty much lost your virginity to some guy who could care less!" I winced. "Please listen to me when I say that he was wrong. You didn't want that."

"What if I did?" I said, my voice sounding more like a squeak than anything else.

"You don't want to have sex with someone who doesn't love you. Even if you love them, it's all one-sided," Marik said. "I refused to have sex with Malik until I knew that he loved me."

"And when was that?" I asked. The question came out a little sharper than I'd intended.

"Remember when we were cutting metal in Shop class?" Marik said. "That kid who had no control over himself—he was cutting some metal, and a piece flew at me. Malik jumped in the way and it got lodged in his arm. That's when I knew." I blinked. Now I remembered, but back then I didn't pay much attention.

"I still have a scar right here," Malik said, pulling up his sleeve and displaying a neat, small scar on his arm.

"That makes sense. But…I really did want that," I said. Somehow, I felt sick to say that. Marik just narrowed his eyes at me.

"Stop lying to us. To yourself," he said darkly. Maybe he was right. Maybe I really was lying to myself. I just didn't want to believe that he'd used me. Finally, I realized that Marik was right. I never did want what Bakura did to me.

So I cried. Quietly, but I cried. No one seemed to notice, except Marik and Malik. Malik got up and came to my side of the table, and gently comforted me while I held my head in a hand.

"You should tell him off. Give him a piece of your mind. Kick him out if you have to," Marik said coldly. Right now, I just wanted silence.

-

"Mai?" I said as soon as I got home. Mai and I were the only ones in the house. Bakura was getting some help from a teacher and still at school, and dad was giving lessons.

"What is it?" she said, looking up from the book in her hands.

"You know how Bakura and I had sex yesterday?" I said. She nodded. "Well…afterwards, he told me that he just wanted to see if he was gay or not, and that he didn't have any feelings for me." Her eyes widened and she slammed the book onto the arm of the chair she was sitting in. Maybe it was a mistake to tell her about this. I just sat in the couch and looked at her meekly.

"What did he tell you?" she said in a low, controlled voice.

"That…he didn't actually have any feelings for me, and that he just wanted to see if he was gay or not," I mumbled.

"Does he know that you love him?" I nodded. "Did he apologize?" I thought back, and nodded. "Did he get down on the floor and beg forgiveness?"

"Um…no," I said.

"He didn't?" she said, raising her eyebrows, but keeping her eyes half-open. I shook my head. "Then he's leaving," she growled. "I may not be your mother _yet_, but I've developed that burning passion for her child."

"No!" I quickly said. "Don't kick him out. He has nowhere to go, and his dad beats him all the time. His mom is nonexistent, as far as I know. That would be…cruel."

"He _used_ you!" she said. I cringed. That word, _used_. I was getting tired of hearing it.

"Please, please don't make him go. Despite all that, I…I still love him," I whispered. She got up and moved to my couch, and gently held me. I leaned into her embrace, sighing softly. "What do I do?" I whimpered. "I want him to…to…"

"To love you?" she finished. I nodded. She sighed. "I wish I knew how to help you with that, Ryou." I frowned a little.

"That's alright," I replied. "I wouldn't know how to help me, either."

-

Many hours passed, and Bakura still hadn't come home. I tried calling his cell, but he didn't pick up. After many hours of trying and failing, I gave up. It was impossible to contact him. Then I wondered: What if he'd returned to his real home? I had only one word to say to that.

"Shit."

So, I got into my car, and drove to Bakura's home frantically. To say the least, I was worried about him. The last time I'd seen him at his home, he'd had bones broken, and was bloody and bruised all over. I didn't want that to happen to him again.

When I arrived, I saw him lying face-first in the snow, wearing only his boxers. I gasped and practically jumped out of the car towards him.

"Bakura! Bakura, are you okay?" I said, shaking him. He was unresponsive, and I feared for the worse. I lifted him out of the snow, and discovered that he looked exactly as he had the last time—bloody and bruised. "Oh, god," I whispered. He was freezing cold, like a body that'd been dead for a while. I could only pray that he hadn't been out here too long.

"Don't you dare die," I commanded, and took him to the car. "Don't you dare be dead!" I put him in the passenger's seat and got a blanket out of the back seat, and turned the heat on full-blast. As soon as I saw him in the light, I discovered that his teeth were chattering, and his entire body was quivering slightly. I covered his body with the blanket, and gently touched his face.

"Bakura, are you awake?" I murmured. If he wasn't awake, I didn't want him to wake up. He nodded.

"M-my eyes a-are fr-frozen shut," he managed out. Even his voice was shivering. I looked closer—there were frozen tears on his eyelids and cheeks. He'd been crying.

"I'm taking you to the hospital," I said. He shook his head.

"No," was all he said.

"Bakura, what if you have broken bones again? What if you need stitches? What if being outside in your boxers for so long internally damaged you?" I demanded. He turned his head away, and I began to drive to the hospital. "Why did you do this?" I asked gently. He didn't speak. "Bakura?"

"I don't want to talk," Bakura replied in a mutter. I nodded.

"Alright," I said, and pulled into the hospital's driveway. "Come on," I said, and carried him inside. I explained where I'd found him to a nurse, and they took him into treatment. I called my dad from the hospital, and explained what had happened.

"Do you want us to come over?" he asked. I paused.

"Yeah, I suppose," I said. Truthfully, I wanted my dad there to comfort me.

"Alright. Well, see you in a while," he said.

"Okay. Bye." We hung up, and the nurse came back to me.

"Do you want to see him? He's in a stable condition now, and should be able to leave by tomorrow," she said. I nodded, and she took me to his room. Bakura was lying back in the bed, one arm in a cast and the rest of his body in bandages. The nurse left us, and I sat next to him in one of the chairs.

"How are you feeling?" I asked awkwardly. He shrugged.

"Fine, I guess. My arm hurts a little," he replied.

"It got broken?" I said. He nodded.

"That's why I was lying in the snow. To sort of null the pain," he replied. "It makes your body cold, which makes you numb, so…" I suppose that there was _some_ logic to it, but not much. We both didn't say anything for a long time.

"Why did you go back there?" I asked.

"I didn't know how to face you," he replied. "After I did that to you, I mean."

"That didn't mean that you had to go to your father's house," I said softly. He sighed and looked away.

"To me, it did. I felt like I should be punished for everything I've ever done to anyone. You especially. Why did you help me? I used you! You should've left me there to freeze," he said bitterly. I gently placed a hand on his and held it lightly.

"It sounds crazy," I said, "but I still love you. And I'm certain that I always will have strong feelings for you, even if I end up finding someone else." He sighed softly.

"I don't see why you love me," he said with a slight scowl.

"At this point, I don't care why I love you," I murmured, and put my hand back into my lap. He paused and gazed at the wall opposite him.

"Would you hold my hand again?" he said. I blinked, and obeyed. This time, his fingers curled around mine and squeezed lightly. My heart beat a little bit faster. "Ryou…I lied to you last night."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I lied about not having any feelings for you," he said softly, still gazing at the wall. He finally looked to me through chaste, pure eyes. "I do love you. I just hadn't realized it."

Time stopped for me. All my fantasies and dreams had become meaningless, because suddenly, everything they symbolized was true. In an instant, I became the happiest person on earth, yet I couldn't say a word. I just stared at him—his eyes, his hand in mine—and I stepped out of my body to analyze the situation. We were sitting in the hospital, after he'd taken an especially rough beating from his father, and he'd told me that _he loved me_. My heart nearly stopped, and my mind reeled. I couldn't say a word. When time started again, I laughed a little, and a tear fell from my eye.

"You know, I never knew that I'd hear something like this in a hospital room," I said through laughs. He smiled, and laughed as well. We spent a wonderful moment just laughing at the insanity of our lives, the sadness, the happiness, the small miracles that reminded us that we existed.

This time, when we kissed, we were gentle—not passionate or sexual, just loving. It was better than our last kiss; it felt truer. My eyes closed gently and his hand tightened around my own.

At that precise moment, I knew that my love for him had grown and grown. I wondered if this was how Malik felt when he kissed Marik like this for the first time.

Sadly, we were interrupted by my father and Mai entering the room. At first, Bakura and I didn't notice. Then, we both heard them gasping, and our eyes snapped open. We pulled away quickly, and we both sat awkwardly in front of them.

"And there I was, thinking that you were done with him after all that," Mai said, rolling her eyes. Bakura and I both blushed, knowing exactly what she meant.

"She knew?" Bakura whispered to me.

"Knew what, exactly?" my dad said, glaring at me. I felt very small, staring up at him.

"Nothing," was my instinctual answer.

"Ryou, tell the truth. You went to Bible school. You should know, by now, that it's a sin to lie," my dad continued. Now I felt even smaller. He just _had_ to bring the Bible into all of this, didn't he?

"I _am_ telling the truth!" I kept insisting. I didn't know why I kept lying, to tell you the truth.

"He's lying," Mai said, rolling her eyes again.

"Am not!" I whined.

"Ryou," my father pressed.

"Fine!" I gave up. "Bakura and I…" I got quieter as I continued, "…had…sex." By the end of my sentence, I was muttering. His eyes widened.

"You know the house rules!" he said, not yelled, but he was still intimidating.

"I know, I know!" I said softly, blushing heavily and looking away. "But…it just…happened, I guess?"

"Um…I'm sorry," Bakura muttered.

"It probably wasn't your fault," my dad said. "Somehow, I think that Ryou came onto you, right?"

"Actually, sir, it was, um, the other way around," Bakura said sheepishly. I hadn't seen him so nervous before, even when we were talking about what we'd done. My dad stared at him, then me, then Bakura again. Finally, he groaned a little and massaged his temples. "Sorry," Bakura said again.

"Ryou, Bakura, I'll talk to you after you're out of the hospital," my dad said.

"Alright," Bakura and I both said. To say the least, I was a bit worried about what my dad would do.

-

Bakura came back the next day. His arm, of course, was still broken, and would be healing for the next six weeks. What more, it was his right arm, and I knew that he was right-handed. So he probably wouldn't be writing for a while, unless he was ambidextrous.

Right now, Bakura, my dad, Mai, and I were sitting in the living room. "Family meeting", I suppose.

"Since you two have…gotten in bed with each other, and are now a couple, then we have to make the rules in the house a bit stricter to prevent you two from having sex again," my dad explained.

"Okay," Bakura and I said, still a little embarrassed about the whole situation. _Damn_, I added as an afterthought. Now that Bakura knew that he loved me, I wanted to have sex with him again, and go all the way this time.

"First, if you two are in _any_ room together, the door must be open. That includes the kitchen, study, living room, and so on," my dad said. "If we find you two in the same room with the door closed, regardless of what you were doing, Mai or I will ground both of you for a week."

"Can we compromise?" I asked. He paused, and nodded. "How about three days instead or a week?"

"Five days is the lowest I'll go, Ryou," my father replied.

"Alright," I said. "Sounds great." Okay, not great, but better.

"Second," my father continued, "no sleeping right next to each other." I pouted a bit at this. Bakura was comfortable, and easy to fall asleep with. "Third, if you two ever kiss, you can't make out." I almost rolled my eyes at that.

"Is that everything we need to know?" Bakura asked after my dad paused a bit.

"Yes, until I think of something else," my dad replied.

"Alright, sounds good," I said, glad that he hadn't decided to kick Bakura out or something.

"So you agree to those, too, Bakura?" my dad asked. Bakura nodded.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

"Good," my dad said with a grin, "otherwise, I might've kicked you out." Needless to say, my dad embarrassed me sometimes.

-

Bakura and I sat in a secluded area of the school grounds the next day, kissing each other gently.

"Thank god for school," Bakura murmured. I nodded, agreeing. Last night, after my dad had laid out the rules, Bakura and I were pretty tempted to kiss each other, but it felt awkward with my parents around. Even just little pecks on the cheek felt weird.

"Sorry about my dad," I said, holding his hand within my own. Bakura shrugged.

"Believe me, I'd take your dad any day," he said, chuckling. I shivered as some wind blew past, and Bakura gently put an arm around my shoulders. He kissed me gently, and a car horn blasted loudly.

"Whoo-hoo! Hot lesbians!!" some guy yelled from the passenger seat of a Ford truck. Bakura glared and practically jumped up.

"We're _guys_, you idiots!" he yelled. The guy from the Ford looked a little freaked out, to say the least. I sweatdropped, and Bakura gently took my arm. "Come on, maybe we should get away from the road," he said. I nodded and we walked closer to the building, instead. There, we saw Marik and Malik.

"There you are. We were looking for you, Ryou," Marik said, hurrying over. He took one look at Bakura, who was holding my arm gently, and glared. "I thought that you were upset about what he did to you," Marik said, scowling at Bakura.

"You told them too?" Bakura asked me, blushing a little.

"Well, them, yes. But Mai figured it out on her own," I replied. I looked to Marik. "It's okay, really. We love each other, and we're together now." Malik narrowed his eyes a little.

"Oh really?" he said. Bakura and I nodded.

"Yeah. I just hadn't figured it out until later," Bakura explained. "But I really do love him."

Marik and Malik were not pleased.

TBC

Mew: …and when Marik and Malik aren't pleased, a tsunami hits the United States of America and kills everyone. Even people in Alaska. The tsunami somehow dodges Canada.

Draiku: At least they're FINALLY together.

Mew: Yeah, I know. That's what I call impatience. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been together until at LEAST chapter thirty. –shot-

Draiku: …you would be killed if you did that.

Mew: I know. But it would be _so_ worth it.

Yoko: As always, we hoped you liked it, and please remember to R&R! Mew really appreciates your kind words, and any criticism you can give!


	24. Situations and Bands

Mew: Now to find out if Marik and Malik approve of Bakura. –grin-

Draiku: So dramatic! –cue dramatic music-

Mew: Well, read on, then. You're wasting your time reading these muses, you know.

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku's dream of owning Yu-Gi-Oh was crushed when she realized that she didn't and never will.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 24: Situations and Bands

"So," Marik said, looking between Bakura and I while the four of us sat in the library, "you two are dating." We nodded. Marik and Malik had taken us here to interrogate us, especially Bakura.

"And you've already had sex, but it was before this," Malik replied. Bakura and I nodded, a little meekly this time.

"That leads us to question your values, Bakura. Obviously, you're the one who came onto Ryou, so it was your fault, technically," Marik continued.

"Yes, it was my fault for that," Bakura said softly. "I was the one who started kissing Ryou."

"I see," Marik said, and nodded once.

"Tell me, Bakura, what are your intentions with my little Ryou?" Malik said, glaring at Bakura. _My little Ryou??!_ I thought. _Since when was I called that??!_

"Well, to love him, obviously," Bakura said. "To spend time with him, and to cater to his every need." I blinked. That sounded…really corny, to say the very least. Marik paused, as if considering his answer.

"Alright," he said, obviously taking a mental note. "What would you do if Ryou throws himself at you and wants to have sex?" I blushed heavily. Admittedly, that was probably something I'd do.

"It depends on how far we are into our relationship, I suppose. After a month or two, I'd do it with him, but not any earlier," he said.

"What if he's into things that you're not into?" Malik asked.

"Well, I said that I'd cater to his every need," Bakura said. "Right?"

"What if he's into S and M, and he likes to be the M?" Malik continued.

"I wouldn't want to hurt him, but if he really enjoyed it, yes, I'd be the S for him. That would have to be extremely far into our relationship, though," Bakura said.

"What if he wanted to be the S?" Marik said. To say the least, they were asking embarrassing questions.

"Then I'd gladly be the M for him," Bakura said. Marik and Malik whispered amongst themselves, and finally turned back to him.

"You've passed, so far," Marik announced. "However, I want to know how you'd react in a given situation. Malik?" Malik nodded.

"Alright. Say Ryou's out of town for the day, and you know this _extremely_ hot guy who's into you. He invites you over. What do you say?" he said.

"I'd reject the invitation," Bakura said.

"What if it was for something simple, like a homework assignment he needs help with?"

"It depends on how well I know him, and how perverted he is. If he was my best friend that I trusted, then I'd go over and help him with his assignment, but nothing more. If he comes onto me, I'll leave," Bakura said, shrugging. Marik nodded, and Malik spoke up again.

"What if Ryou wants to adopt kids, but you don't?" Malik said.

"Again, it depends on how long we've been together, and if we can even support a child. I'd first talk it out with him, and if he wants a child really badly, then I'd say yes. Then we'd adopt one. I'm sure that I'd grow to love the kid, right?" Bakura said. "But if we really can't support a child, I'd say no, because I imagine that if Ryou wanted a child, he'd only want the best for it."

"Good, so far," Malik said. "Okay, you adopt a child, but it's a brat who was taken away from it's homophobic parents and hates you two for being gay." Bakura paused. Truthfully, it was a hard situation to imagine. I didn't know what I'd do in that situation, actually.

"Well," Bakura started, drawing out the word, "I…don't know what I'd do. How old is the kid?"

"Five or six," Malik replied.

"Then I'm not sure. But before adoption comes fostering, right? So we'd have the kid for a few months before we actually adopt it. Obviously, if the kid hated us, we wouldn't adopt it."

"Say you did, though," Malik said, rolling his eyes.

"I really don't know what I'd do about that. I'd probably try and teach the kid about being accepting and stuff, and at that age there's a chance that it might work. I suppose that it would depend on how much the kid's original parents beat the idea of homophobia into them," Bakura said.

"Alright then," Malik said. "One moment, please." He and Marik turned around, and discussed things amongst themselves. They whispered for a while, and finally they turned around again.

"You pass," Marik stated. "You sounded honest about the entire thing. That last situation was to see how honest you really were."

"I don't quite see how that last one worked, though," I commented.

"Well, he asked for the factors that might've affected the kid, and he admitted that he didn't know," Malik said. "Confusion is a sign of honesty." I blinked.

"Still not seeing how that works," I said.

"It's a logic thing; you'll learn when you're older," Malik said, waving me off.

"I'm older than you," I said. "By a few months, I might add." Malik paused.

"Um…" he said, pausing. "Marik's dad taught it to me. So…since he's gone, you'll never learn. I think."

"Is he telling the truth?" I asked Marik, who chuckled.

"He seems confused, so he must be," Marik replied with a grin. Malik lightly punched his arm. "Anyway, Bakura, seems like you're worthy of Ryou. Except I have one more question—top, or bottom?"

"Why does _everyone_ want to know that??!" I practically yelled, and kicked at the trash can a bit. "Mai did, and she was even discussing it with my dad! God!" This was getting old. Obviously, whoever was planning out my life really wanted to annoy me. A lot.

"Does it really matter what we do when we have sex?" Bakura said dully. Marik and Malik nodded. "In that case, I'd most likely be on top, but Ryou could be if he wanted to. But he'd have to be gentle." Bakura was blushing a bright pink color.

"How about you, Ryou?" Malik asked, looking to me. I blushed wildly, even more than Bakura.

"Um…I don't…know," I managed out. Truthfully, I'd gladly be on bottom. But for some reason, that small fact embarrassed me.

"Sure you do!" Marik insisted.

"I guess…bottom," I whispered softly. Marik and Malik seemed surprised. "What?" I said.

"But you're taller than Bakura," Malik said. I blinked.

"Way taller," Marik added.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked. "And I'm taller? I never noticed."

"Me neither, until just a day or two ago," Malik replied. "See, these bangs on Bakura's head make it look like he's taller. Plus, he's wearing shoes with big soles. But he's still shorter. Damn, you're short, Bakura. Even Ryou's taller than you, and by a few inches!" Bakura seemed annoyed.

"So what if I'm short?" he said rather defensively. "I like being short."

"Yeah, right. Otherwise you wouldn't be wearing those shoes," Marik pointed out.

"Okay, so I'm short! So what?" Bakura said. Yeah, whoever was in control of this obviously wanted to annoy Bakura, too.

"I still don't see how our height affects who's on top, though," I said.

"Look at Marik and I," Malik said. "We look like we're the same height, but I'm shorter by an inch. Marik's on top. Now, look at your dad and Mai. Your dad's taller, so he's on top."

"But Mai's a woman!" I said. "Even if she was taller, she's still be on bottom!"

"Gender doesn't matter!" Malik snapped. "Anyway, then there's Shizuka and Mana. Mana's taller, so she's on top. Then there are those two teachers, Mr. Jeff and Mr. Vick. Mr. Vick is taller, so he's on top, too! There's a logic to it, believe me."

"How would you know about Jeff and Vick?" Bakura asked.

"We used to live next door to them," Malik replied. "Their bedroom window was _huge_. So was Vick, actually."

"Oh, god," I muttered. Vick was my math teacher. I did _not_ need to know that.

"So, you two are going against nature by having Bakura on top."

"But I said that I wanted to be on bottom! Isn't that all that matters?" I whined.

"Sure, sure. Whatever. You two do what you want," Marik said, rolling his eyes.

"Why are we even talking about this?" Bakura said.

"Because you're short," Marik replied. "See, I could use you as an armrest, actually."

"Please, don't," Bakura said dully. "I'd have to hit you if you did."

"You probably wouldn't reach," Marik said, grinning.

"You're being immature again, Marik," Malik said, rolling his eyes. "Just leave Bakura alone."

"Thank you," Bakura said.

"Ah, well," Marik said, seemingly disappointed. "We should probably head to class, right? The bell's going to ring in a few minutes."

"Right, let's get going," I said, standing. We went to our separate classes, and it was just my luck that I had Vick. Throughout all of class, all I could do was imagine him with Mr. Jeff, in bed. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least.

-

My dad and Mai weren't at home when Bakura and I returned from school. I stared at the note on the door, reading it.

_Gone for some errands, will be back around five,_ it said. Bakura stared at it as well.

"I wonder if they're tempting us," he commented. I nodded in agreement. We went inside and sat in the living room, almost a bit afraid to do anything else. Who knows, they may have set up secret cameras around the house. I strongly suspected that because there were two condoms on the floor beneath my bed, and two more on Bakura's bedside table.

"I think they left these here on purpose," I said, picking up one of the condoms in Bakura's room. He nodded in agreement.

"Definitely," he said. "No offense, but you have a weird dad, Ryou."

"I know. He's really religious, but he still had sex with Mai before they got married," I replied.

"Maybe they hired George to keep an eye on us," Bakura suggested.

"How would he know?" I replied.

"You scream when you have an orgasm," Bakura replied. I blushed.

"I…do?" I said.

"You don't remember?" Bakura said, startled. I nodded. "Wow. Anyway, um, let's just go sit in the living room some more." I nodded again, and like he said, we did. Bakura made a sign out of four large pieces of paper and stood in the middle of the room with it. The sign said, on each side, "We know you're watching!" To say the least, it was quite funny. While I was laughing, I heard more laughing coming from somewhere below. Bakura and I decided to inspect it, and when we went to the basement, we saw Mai and my father sitting down there and talking.

"You two never even left in the first place!" I whined. They gasped.

"How did you find us?" my dad asked.

"It was kinda obvious, you know," I replied. "As soon as we heard the laughs, we knew you'd be down here."

"Ah," dad replied.

"Why'd you leave that note saying that you'd be gone?" I asked.

"Well, to see what you'd do, of course," Mai replied. "We would just listen, since George says that he head a scream coming from our house the other day. Then, we'd go upstairs and catch you two in the act. Also, even if you didn't scream, we'd still know. Ryou gets guilty eyes."

"So I take it we've been discovered?" my dad said, sighing.

"Yeah, seems like it. Why were you two laughing?" Bakura asked. My dad and Mai paused.

"No reason," they said.

"It was probably about us. Let's go up," I said, sighing, and Bakura followed me upstairs. Mai and dad came up as well, and for the rest of the evening, they occasionally whispered to each other. I had no idea what they were talking about, but brushed it off for the time being. It was best to ask them later, when Bakura wasn't around. Who knows, it might be about him.

-

School was dull the next day, except that we had a surprise concert. Our local garage band (whose lead singer apparently wanted to become the next Marilyn Manson) did various songs. Marik and Malik hated it, to say the least.

"They were an insult to rock musicians all over," Marik said during lunch. Malik nodded in agreement.

"At least their playing wasn't half-bad. The singer sucked, though," he said. "They should ditch him and get a new one." Marik nodded, also agreeing.

"And they should write their own songs, or have someone do it," Marik added. Malik nodded again. Sometimes it amazed me how similar they were.

"Hey, Malik!" someone yelled from across the lunchroom. "Can you come here a second?" Malik blinked.

"What for?" he yelled back.

"We wanna talk to you for a minute!" the kid replied. Marik glared. "Don't worry, it won't take long, I swear."

"Alright. Just a minute, Marik." Malik got up and went to the kids who wanted to speak with him. Marik sighed, annoyed.

"You know, you don't have to worry about him so much," Bakura said. Marik sighed again.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. He's all grown-up, right? Well, ever since the Halloween dance, I've just been really paranoid. I don't want him to go through that again," he said.

"I doubt that you need to worry at school, though," Mana put in. Marik shrugged.

"You never know." Malik returned with a grin plastered to his face.

"Those guys were the drummer, guitarist, and bass guitarist for the band that played today. They ditched the singer, and wanted me to join!" he announced. Marik raised an eyebrow.

"Did you accept?" he asked. Malik nodded.

"Of course! I've always wanted to be in a band," he replied. Marik blinked.

"You could've just told me and we could've started one," he said. Malik paused. He was obviously searching for an excuse.

"You never seemed that interested in being in a band, though," he said. Marik sighed.

"We used to talk about it a lot, though. I mean, how I'd help you become the future Marilyn Manson and whatnot," he said. Malik bit his lower lip.

"Well, it's alright, you can probably help write songs and stuff. I told them that I'd only join if we wrote our own songs, okay?" he said. "Anyway, I have to go talk to them again. Gotta find out when they meet and where they meet and stuff."

"Alright," Marik mumbled. He was clearly hurt. Malik left, returning to the garage band. When he was gone, Marik held his head in his hands.

"Don't worry about him," I said. "He's just having a little fun."

"Doesn't he want to do things with me?" Marik replied, a bit weakly.

"Maybe he just needs some space," Bakura suggested. Marik sighed.

"I suppose," he muttered. "I just hope he doesn't forget about me or anything." I looked over to Malik while he talked with the garage band. I was happy for him, but at the same time, I worried. What if he really _did_ forget about Marik?

TBC

Mew: Well, this could go either way. Should I make it sad, or happy? Hm.

Draiku: Let's see some angst!

Yoko: Noo, I want sunshine and fairy-tale endings!

Mew: Oi.

Yoko: Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone! Remember to R&R!


	25. Breakup!

Mew: This chapter is about one page shorter than the rest, so I apologize in advance for that. But at least there's a bit of action in it. Well, that really depends on your definition of "action", so… -coughs- Sorry.

Draiku: So from here out, I'll be taking control of Badass Boyfriend. That means that Ryou will die, as well as Bakura, in a horribly painful way. Why? Because I'm Draiku, for Pete's sake.

Mew: NEVER! –password protects files-

Draiku: Damn! Foiled again!

Mew: Draiku will never take control of this, I promise.

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku sadly owns no rights to Yu-Gi-Oh, or anything else in this fiction that is copyrighted. She wishes that she did, but we can't all get what we want, can we? No. So, that's your moral for today, kiddoes.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 25: Breakup!

A week had passed since Malik joined that garage band as the lead singer. After Marik, Bakura, Mana, Shizuka and I visited him while he was practicing with them, we discovered that their band name was "the Bats". They'd mentioned that it was because "bats" backwards was "stab", and they thought themselves to be very hardcore. Marik immediately disagreed, saying that when you do covers of James Blunt, you're not hardcore. Of course, this led the Bats to hate Marik, and Malik to get angry at him.

"Why'd you have to say that in front of them??!" Malik yelled at Marik the next day. "What the hell is your problem??! Why can't you just be friendly??!" Marik glared at Malik.

"I said that in front of them because it's _true_, I have a problem with you always hanging out with them, and I hate them! Enough said!" Marik snapped.

"Who cares if they do covers of James Blunt??! At least _I_ don't listen to Madonna!" Malik growled black. Marik seemed offended.

"Hey! Madonna's not that bad, and you listen to her, too!"

"Only twice in a blue moon! I hate her!"

"Oh, so you lied when you said that you loved her songs??!"

"Hell yes! She sucks!"

"Yeah, well, you swallow, and I know that's a fact!" Marik yelled. Malik gasped and blushed.

"At least I never had a premature ejaculation!" he yelled. Marik's eyes widened and he blushed as well.

"You said that you'd never discuss that!" he whined.

"You were the one who brought sex into this in the first place!" Malik snarled. Meanwhile, Bakura, Mana, Shizuka, and I just stared at them. Somehow, sex always seemed to sneak its way into their arguments, even minor ones.

"Guys, stop fighting--," Mana said, stepping forward.

"Shut up!" Marik and Malik both yelled. Mana rolled her eyes and stepped back.

"Idiots," she grumbled. I nodded. This would only lead to yet another breakup.

"Why do you have a problem with me hanging out with other people, hm??!" Malik demanded.

"I'm just worried about your--!" Marik started.

"What do you mean, 'worried'??! There's nothing to be worried about! It's not like they're gonna gang-rape me or something!"

"That's already happened once! I have every right to worry about you!"

"Worry??! It seems more like you just want to control me!" Marik gasped.

"I'd never--!"

"Then why won't you let me do what I want??!"

"I already--!"

"Just shut up! It's over! The wedding's off for good this time!" Malik yelled. Marik gasped again, his eyes wide. He suddenly glared.

"Oh, so I'm not allowed to worry about my boyfriend all of a sudden??!" he argued.

"What do you mean, 'your boyfriend'? I already said, it's over for good!" Malik shouted, and stormed off. Marik paused for a moment, then walked in the opposite direction. He stopped at a street lamp and smacked his forehead against it. I sighed and walked over to him before he could hurt himself.

"Marik, stop that," I said, grabbing his shoulder. He sighed and leaned against it.

"He's so damn frustrating," he murmured. He flicked around and kicked over a trashcan. "Dammit!"

"Calm down," I said, setting the can back up. Thankfully, it had been empty. "This happens to every couple. Remember the last time you and he broke up?"

"Well, I came onto you," Marik replied. I sighed.

"Besides that. You got back together."

"Yeah, _after_ we found that suitcase of money," Marik said. "The only way we're going to get back together is if he leaves that damned, crappy band, or if they gang-rape him and he comes to me afterwards and says I was right and begs for forgiveness."

"He's having fun, can't you see that? I think that you should just let him be this time," I said.

"I still worry about him," Marik mumbled.

"I don't blame you. Come on, just take a break for now, and cool down. Then go apologize," I said. Marik sighed, and nodded. We returned to our little group, and decided to head to my place. As it turned out, I lived a block away from the bass guitarist's house, where they practiced.

"Welcome back, Ryou. I see you've brought some friends?" Mai said when I returned home.

"Yeah, can they come in?" I asked. This was the usual routine for when I brought a rather large group of friends over. She nodded, and we went inside to the living room. Marik mostly moped around on the loveseat, and only occasionally chatted with us. Whenever he did talk, he'd bring Malik into it, until he'd eventually sigh and shut up.

Finally, his cell rang. Marik checked the caller ID, and gasped.

"It's Malik!" he hissed.

"Maybe he's apologizing?" Shizuka suggested.

"Put it on speaker phone!" Mana urged. Marik nodded and answered. He quickly switched it to speaker phone.

"Hello? Malik?" he said.

"How'd you know it was me?" Malik asked.

"I have caller ID, you know. What do you want?" Marik asked. He heard Malik chuckle on the other end.

"I just wanted to let you know that I don't need you," Malik said. Marik sighed.

"Are you done yet? This is really annoying. Why, anyway?"

"I have a new boyfriend. He's the bass guitarist in the Bats."

Everyone gasped. A new boyfriend??! Was Malik crazy??! Marik would kill this guy.

"You're joking," Marik said, sitting up. "That's Honda, one of the foreign exchange students from Japan!"

"Yeah, I know," Malik replied. "And you know what? He's hotter than you." With that said, Malik hung up. Marik stared straight ahead. Finally, he stood up and threw his phone to the floor.

"That little--!!" he yelled, and grabbed his head with both hands. "Rrrgh! He makes me so fucking mad!"

"Marik, he's probably joking," I said. "Calm down. He just wants to make you jealous, alright?" Marik sighed and sat down. He held his head in his hands again.

"Dammit. I miss him already," he muttered.

"Don't worry," I replied, "this'll all be over soon enough."

-

To sum up the validity of "This'll all be over soon enough," I was wrong. The next day, Malik came over to us during lunch and purposely made out with Honda right in front of Marik. At least Honda was happy. Then, they left, Honda's hand practically glued to Malik's ass.

"Only I can touch him there!" Marik growled, gritting his teeth. "Malik said so himself!"

"It's alright; Honda looks like he's only into it for sex or something," Bakura said. "If Malik's smart, he'll leave him soon."

"Besides that," I put in, "I know that Malik only goes for really handsome guys, and Honda's not handsome in the least. Well, maybe if he put down his hair, but otherwise, no."

"Forgot about that," Bakura said. "Remember that kid who moved away? I think his name was Otogi or something. Anyway, Malik used to like him."

"Yeah, and that kid looked nice. Even I'll admit that," I said. "He was obviously gay, so he was my second choice after you, Bakura. In case you were straight."

"You kept a list?" Bakura asked. I nodded.

"Well, sure. Why not?" I replied. We turned our attention back to Marik, who had his head on the table. "You okay?" I asked.

"I _was_ until you said that Honda would look alright with his hair down," Marik mumbled. "Knowing Malik, he'll make Honda do that. Dammit. He's gone for good this time."

"Stop thinking like that," Mana scolded. "If you keep doing that, Malik really will leave you."

"Still…" Marik muttered, looking up. "I have every right to feel depressed, right?"

"Yeah, just not to the extremes," I said. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. It was a horrible, evil, cruel idea, but maybe it would work. "How about you give him a taste of your own medicine?" I asked with a slight smirk. Everyone looked at me, surprised.

"You alright?" Bakura asked, staring.

"What do you mean by that?" Marik asked.

"Date someone else while he's dating Honda. It'll make him jealous, and he'll come back to you," I said. "And to add insult to injury, make it a girl!" I added, though it was probably unnecessary.

"What??!" everyone exclaimed.

"I'm serious," I replied. "Would you at least try it, Marik?" He paused.

"I _do_ want Malik back, and obviously he won't listen to me right now. I tried to talk to him about ten times on the phone last night, but he just said, 'Screw off,' and hung up on me," Marik said. "Will this at least make him listen?"

"I think so. Knowing Malik, he gets curious easily. Remember in fourth grade, when I had a little piece of paper in my pocket and I kept looking at it?" I said. "Malik wanted to know what it was, and he wouldn't stop pestering me about it, even weeks after the day I brought it! He'll obviously want to know why you 'gave up' and dated someone else." Marik nodded.

"That's true…" he said. "Let me think about this a second."

"What was on that paper, anyway?" Bakura asked while we waited for Marik's reply.

"It was just a note from my dad that he gave to me when my grades were dropping a little," I replied. "It said, 'I love you no matter what.' So it was kind of special to me."

"So why didn't you just show him?" Bakura asked.

"You know how kids are in that grade. Anything like that from their parents is embarrassing," I said.

"Alright," Marik said, sitting up. "I'll do it, if it'll bring Malik back."

"Good! Here's what we'll do," I said, and we leaned in to discuss our plans.

-

"Ryou, can I ask you something?" Bakura said to me while we lounged in the living room together. I nodded.

"Sure, go ahead," I said, looking to him.

"Why did you suddenly dress all gothic-like instead of sort of…easing into the style?" he asked. I blinked. "And then afterwards you dressed like you'd just stepped out of American Eagle or something. Why?"

"Well…it's kind of a long-but-incredibly-short story," I said. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Basically, Marik and Malik knew that I liked you, so they dressed me up like that so you'd notice me. Then dad made me stop since he thought I was a Satanist. Then he let me dress like that again after I explained why I was dressed like that in the first place, which was to get your attention. When I asked him why a little later, he said that he'd done it for a girl in high school that he liked. She actually went out with him, and that was my mom."

"Wow," Bakura said. "Your mom and your dad stayed together through high school?"

"Yeah, but they got together near the end of their senior year. They stayed in touch throughout college, and dad stayed loyal to her. They really loved each other," I explained. "Can I ask you something, now?" He nodded. "Would you have noticed me if I hadn't dressed like that?" Bakura paused.

"I noticed you all the time. I used to sit behind you in Algebra 2 in our sophomore year, right? I stared at you every day. That's why my grade in that class dropped," he said. "I just didn't want my friends to think I was gay, so I pretended like I didn't, and got a girlfriend. Plus, my dad thought I was gay, so I had to convince him otherwise. He would've killed me if he'd known."

"That makes sense," I said. "So…does your dad know?" Bakura nodded.

"Yeah. I told him the day after we had sex," he said. "He'd never actually broken a bone before, so I know that he hates me." He paused a moment to gaze at his cast.

"Sorry," I murmured. I had felt what it was like to be hated by your own father, even just temporarily.

"It's alright," he replied. "Do you think my mom would love me?"

"Was your mom like your dad?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I can't remember. She left when I was young. I dunno where she went," he said. "I wish that I did, so I could speak to her and learn about her."

"I have another question," I said softly. "When you said that you wouldn't know what you'd do without your mom, what did you mean? You didn't really have a mom back then."

"My dad always beat me, and threatened to kill me. If I didn't have anything to look forward to—my mom returning—I would've let him kill me. It was basically my will to live. But…she's gone. I know she is," he said softly.

"Who knows, she might show up tomorrow," I said.

"I wish she would," Bakura mumbled. I reached over and took his hand gently. He looked at me, and I smiled.

"She'll come back. I promise," I said. It was probably the corniest thing to say, but for some reason, I was certain that she'd show up.

"What if you're wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know why, but I know that I'm right this time," I said.

"I guess all I can do is pray, then," he said with a chuckle. "But…even if I do pray, I doubt that she'll come back. I've been forsaken ever since the day I was born."

"You think so?" I said. He nodded. "If God really hated you, I think that your father would've killed you a long time ago. God probably has plans for you."

"Well, if He does, I don't want to be a part of them," Bakura muttered, turning over. I got up and knelt next to his shoulders. I gently patted and stroked his back, trying my best to comfort him. It was hard, though. I could never possibly understand what he was going through.

The phone rang a few minutes later. It was late; past midnight. Who would call at this time, unless it was an emergency, or a prank? I picked it up.

"Hello, this is Ryou Bakura," I said.

"Someone told me that my son was there. Is he?" a woman's voice said. I gasped, my eyes wide.

Could it be…?

TBC

Mew: Bwahahahaha! Another insane plot twist!! And a cliffhanger, too!

Draiku: Sometimes I swear that you're eviler than me.

Mew: 'Eviler' is a word?

Draiku: That's what Word's saying. –shrug-

Mew: Also, I'M SO, _SO_ SORRY FOR THE BREAKUP. However, I PROMISE that they will get back together in the next chapter! By the way, this is the only time I'll ever tell you what happens, so don't look forward to anymore spoilers again.

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! As always, please R&R! And if you have time, please leave Mew some constructive criticism. She wants to be an author, you know. –pelted by rotten tomatoes-


	26. Schemes

Mew: As promised in the previous chapter, Marik and Malik will get back together in this one. Why? Because, simply put, Malik and Honda do not make a good couple.

Draiku: I agree. –gag-

Mew: Ah, well. Anyway, I'm sorry for all the angst in this. I promise that there will be happiness soon. Marik and Malik's wedding is coming up, and so is Jonathan and Mai's. So I'll be planning their weddings for them. –grin-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns _nothing_. Not even the lint in her left pocket. _Nothing_. Especially not Yu-Gi-Oh.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 26: Schemes

I stared straight ahead. Could this possibly be Bakura's mother? It seemed too unlikely, too much of a coincidence that she'd suddenly call while we were talking about her.

"Um…who is this?" I asked meekly.

"My name is Keiko Touzoku. I went to my old home to find my son, Bakura, but he was gone. One kid I saw outside said that he'd be at your home, and gave me your number. Is it true? Is he really there?" She spoke very quickly, but somewhat sadly as if she was expecting disappointment.

"Y-yes, he's here," I said, still shocked. "You're…you're his mother?" I looked to Bakura. Since I'd stroked his back, he'd fallen asleep. He was probably emotionally exhausted.

"Oh, God," she murmured, sounding extremely winded. "May I come over to see him? Please?"

"Of course! Do you have my address? Also, who told you he'd be here?" I quickly replied.

"A young man named Marik did; he seemed surprised. And no, he just gave me your phone number," she said.

"Alright, just drive down fifth street, turn right and go straight for ten blocks. My house is the white one on the corner with the blue car in the driveway. To the right is a house with a huge garden," I said.

"Okay. Thank you so, so much. I…I don't know how I can repay you," she said softly. "I've missed him for so many years."

"I understand. I'll see you in a little while, though I may have to explain this to my parents," I said.

"If it's a problem with them, I won't come," she said.

"I doubt it would be a problem," I replied. "My dad's pretty understanding, or at least he's been since September sometime." I chuckled a little. Ever since I'd come out, he'd learned to accept people for who they were. He still had a problem with Satanists, though.

"Thanks again," she said.

"No problem." I hung up, and hurried upstairs, where Mai and my dad were in the study, planning their wedding, probably. "Dad?" I said. He looked up.

"What is it? You seem shocked," he commented.

"Bakura's mother just called. I couldn't say no, so she's coming over in a little bit," I explained.

"He has a mother? I thought that she'd left him or died," Mai said, surprised.

"She did leave, but apparently, she's back," I said. They nodded.

"Alright, she can come over. We should go downstairs to greet her," my dad said. We returned to the living room, where I awoke Bakura.

"Bakura?" I said to him. He groaned, waking up.

"What is it?" he asked lazily.

"Your mom just called. She's coming over right now," I explained. He didn't speak for a long time.

"That's not funny, Ryou," he said, glaring and turning over.

"I'm serious!" I said. "Why would I lie to you about something like this?"

"She's never coming back! I know that she isn't!" Bakura growled.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Mai got up to answer it, but the rest of us could only remain silent. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Mai returned. Behind her was an average-sized woman with flowing, black hair. Her features, like Bakura's, were somewhat pointed, and her skin was pale. At least now I knew where Bakura got his good looks from.

The two stared at each other for a long time. Bakura was awestruck. He scrambled to his feet and stood, staring at her.

"Bakura," she said with a weak, but warm smile. Bakura glared.

"This is impossible!" he yelled. "You're not my mother! She's gone forever!" Keiko frowned sadly.

"I'm sorry that I left," she said. Bakura kept glaring, but he looked sort of confused.

"Prove that you're my mother," he said. "Until you can, you're just an imposter. A stranger who wants to lie to me." She gazed at him, thinking.

"When you were born, you had light brown hair," she said. "About six months passed, and it became blond. Your father and I went to the doctor to ask why, and he said that you had a condition that would make your hair white or silver. Your hair continued to lighten, and by first grade it was light silver." Bakura stared. "A month or so into the summer of that same school year, I left." She smiled a bit. "Is that enough proof?" Bakura gritted his teeth, looking away.

"That…that still doesn't prove anything," he muttered. "What does my last name mean in Japanese? My real mother told me, and I've only told one person."

"Your last name means 'thief'," she said. Bakura gasped. "And 'baku' from your name means 'tapir'." Bakura stared at her for a long while.

"Oh, God," he whispered. "You're her. You're actually her. And you're back! Oh, God!" He dashed over, and she embraced him while he cried on her shoulder. "M-mom," he whimpered.

"Bakura," she whispered back, crying as well. "I've missed you." I smiled. I was glad that Bakura had been reunited with his mother, but I was disappointed that he'd probably leave now. I didn't know where he'd go, though.

"Where were you?" he asked, looking at her.

"Your father made me leave," she murmured. "He said that he'd kill you and me if I didn't go." Bakura gasped.

"He…wanted to kill me?" he repeated, shocked. I was shocked as well. Abuse was one thing, but the fact that Bakura's dad wanted to kill him was almost too much to handle. Keiko nodded sadly.

"Yes. I didn't want you to die, even if that meant that I'd never see you again," she said.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

"I traveled all around the world," she replied. "I've been to every state, and all of the continents. However, most of the time I stayed in Japan." Bakura nodded, and pulled away.

"Why did you _really_ come back?" he asked. She smiled.

"Because I missed you. I planned on having your father arrested, then taking you to a good home," she said. She turned to my family and I. "Thank you so much for allowing Bakura to stay. I…I could never thank you enough."

"Think nothing of it," my father said, smiling.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names," Keiko said. "I'm Keiko Touzoku."

"A pleasure to meet you," Mai replied. "I'm Mai Kujaku, and this is my future husband, Jonathan Bakura." They greeted each other.

"And this is our son, Ryou," my dad added. "He's in Bakura's class. Would you like to sit down?" he asked, motioning to the living room. Keiko wanted to catch up with Bakura, and know us a little better, so she accepted.

"I won't stay too long," she said. "If I need to go, just tell me." She smiled.

"That's alright. You can stay the night if you need to, since Bakura will have to pack in the morning," my dad said. She and Bakura seemed grateful. Obviously, they were tired, and needed rest. Keiko asked a bit about Bakura, and about me. I didn't mention Bakura and my relationship with each other, just in case Bakura wanted to tell his mom afterwards.

"Then there's Marik and Malik," Bakura said, after Keiko had asked about his friends. "They've been dating for a really, really long time—a few years, I think. They were going to get married, what with the state allowing it an all, but they broke up recently."

"It's the second time they've broken up, too," I added. "But only the second."

"I see," Keiko said. "That's a shame, though. They seem like they work well for each other." Bakura nodded.

"Yeah. Their fight is about something really stupid, too. Malik joined a garage band and he's hanging out with them a lot. You see, Malik was…beaten up by some people a while back, and Marik worried about him," Bakura said. "I can see Marik's side, but I also see Malik's."

"Same, here. Marik definitely should allow Malik more freedom, and let him take care of himself for a while. Malik should try to balance out his time spent with Marik and the band, too," Keiko said. I nodded, agreeing.

Bakura ended up not telling his mother about us, so I could only guess that he wanted to do it in private later. Keiko decided to take my dad up on the offer of staying the night, so Bakura was bunking in my room. Unfortunately, my parents' room was next door, so nothing much would happen between us. He did lie next to me, though. So, it worked out nicely.

"Do you really think that she'll still like me?" he asked, laying back with his hands behind his head. I nodded.

"Sure. She didn't seem fazed by us talking about Marik and Malik. I don't think that she'd mind," I said, wrapping an arm around him. He scooted a little closer to me, sighing.

"I hope so," he muttered.

"Well, I know so, so stop being so paranoid about it. If she does kick you out, you can just come back here. Also, she's really smart, so she'll bring you back in. Like what my dad did," I explained. He sighed again.

"Alright. Well, good night, Ryou. I love you," he said, kissing me gently. I smiled and kissed him back.

"Good night," I replied. We fell asleep together, our dreams peaceful and undisturbed.

-

Marik had found a girl who would "go out with him" in order to make Malik jealous. Her name was Ribbon (yeah, she had a weird name), and she was actually a fan of them.

"I'd do it for you any day! You and Malik are just _so_ adorable together!" she squealed happily. Marik grinned.

"Thanks so much! I was worried that you wouldn't be so happy with the idea, since we'd only be going out for a day or less…" he said.

"No problem!" she replied. I chuckled, and the three of us headed to lunch to put the plan into action. Marik and Ribbon held hands, and made a show of walking past Malik while he waited in line for his food. I decided to go straight to our table; I wasn't that hungry today. I was only eager to see what would happen. Marik and Ribbon sat down as well, and chatted like a couple. Bakura talked to them, too, and I watched Malik's reaction. He was glaring, obviously jealous. It didn't take much to get him jealous, actually.

"Alright, I think you can start," I said.

"Okay. Sorry if I seem like a bad kisser, Ribbon," Marik added. "I'm…not too hot on the idea of kissing a girl."

"That's understandable," she said with a laugh. She and Marik gazed at each other, and pulled in for a quick, gentle kiss. Malik's eyebrows went up, and he glared at her.

"Oh crap," I whispered. "He's pissed." Marik just gave me a secret thumbs-up.

"Alright, go," I said to them. They got up and walked over to Malik and Honda.

"Hey, Malik!" Marik said, grinning at him somewhat cockily. "Remember how you said that you didn't need me anymore? Well, I don't need you anymore, either. Now I have this gorgeous girl, Ribbon. Isn't she adorable?" She giggled and gently kissed Marik's cheek. "And, she's prettier than you, by the way." Malik was furious.

"Hey!" he yelled, standing and marching over to them. "No one's hotter than me! Besides, you're gay! Full-blown _gay_! You'd never even _consider_ being with a girl!" He poked Marik's chest with his index finger.

"No, I'm bi. I told you that I was gay so you'd know I was faithful to you, but since we broke up, well…" Marik shrugged.

"No way," Malik mumbled. "No way is this happening! We were engaged and everything!"

"Hey, I didn't break up with you. Well, see you," Marik said, starting to walk away.

"Stop!" Malik commanded, grabbing his arm. "You bastard! I'll prove that I'm better than this bitch!" He grabbed Marik's face and roughly made out with him, successfully melting Marik (and Ribbon, who was intently watching) into a pile of goo. Honda seemed a little disappointed, but Ribbon, who had secretly lusted for him since he'd moved here, decided to snag him for herself. The plan worked out perfectly; Marik and Malik were back together, and a new couple was created. Also, like Marik said, Honda had only told Malik that he was gay so he'd seem more faithful. I didn't quite see how that worked, since he could easily cheat on Malik with another guy, but Malik bought it.

"So you promise you won't forget me?" Marik asked when he and Malik sat at our table. Malik nodded.

"I'd never forget you. I just want to have a little fun," he explained. "I know that I should be cautious, since anything could happen, but really, they all have girlfriends now. So why should I worry with 'Stab'?"

"Alright, I see," Marik said. "That makes sense. I still don't like 'em that much, though. James Blunt isn't badass or anything."

"He's a good singer, though," Malik put in. Marik paused, and shook his head.

"No, he's annoying," he replied. Malik chuckled.

"Alright, whatever. I don't feel like arguing with you anymore," he said. Marik nodded.

"Sounds good to me," he said. "So…are we engaged again?" Malik grinned.

"Of course! That's why I kept the ring," he said.

"I thought you were going to sell it or something," Marik said.

"I'd never do that," Malik replied. The bell rang, and we left the lunchroom in good moods.

"So," I said to Bakura. "I take it you're moving in with your mom today?" He nodded.

"Yeah. Your family's great and all, but I really want to catch up with her," he replied, grinning. "You know…I never thought that I'd see her again. Ever."

"I bet you're glad you were wrong," I said. He nodded.

"I definitely am." I smiled, happier for Bakura than myself.

-

While we were walking out of school, Marik and I were joking about Malik's expression when he saw Marik and Ribbon kissing.

"Your eyes were probably the size of dinner plates!" Marik said with a grin. I was cracking up. Now that I actually thought about it, it was seriously pretty funny. Bakura chuckled as well.

"Well, can you blame me? You were kissing a _girl_!" Malik retorted. I just kept laughing while we walked down the stairs of our school.

"Yeah, but it was still pretty hilarious. I thought that I'd have to give you CPR or something, you know. You looked like you were about to faint," Bakura said. Malik rolled his eyes, and suddenly, my foot caught on a step. I tripped and fell down the rest of the way, trying to cover my head with my arms. I could just barely see Bakura, Marik, and Malik rushing to help me, but I hit the bottom before they could even get close. The edges of my sight went red with blood. I groaned and closed my eyes, feeling an unexpected and painful pressure inside my head.

Bakura's voice became an echo.

"Ryou!"

I let out a breath and careened into darkness. My thoughts ended there.

-

_Bakura's POV_

There was so much blood…

I could only fall to my knees and cry.

TBC

Mew: It's not over yet. I swear. And y'know what? I vowed to not make this switch POVs, but it looks like it's going to have to for now.

Draiku: Shame on you for hurting Ryou. _Again_.

Mew: Yeah…this story seriously needs more happiness. –sighs-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please remember to R&R if you want Ryou to live!


	27. Guardian

Mew: Yeah, the POVs switch in this chapter. Be warned. For those who don't want to figure it out in the beginning, every time there's a new section, the POV switches. In order to figure out who's talking, read the italicized text with _So-and-so's POV_. That will tell you.

Draiku: And if you still don't know who's talking, quickly PM us so we can slap you.

Mew: -glares at Draiku- Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: -sigh- Mew Draiku doesn't –yawn- own… Yu-Gi-Oh. –falls asleep-

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 27: Guardian

_Marik's POV_

I was shocked to see Ryou lying unconscious on the ground, to say the least. For one thing, he'd just tripped a little. Sure, he could be clumsy, but…surely not _that_ clumsy? At the time, all I could think about was helping him. Bakura probably thought that he'd died or something, and fell to the ground and sobbed. Malik called for an ambulance, while I knelt next to Ryou and attempted to wake him. My attempts were useless; he didn't budge. For a moment, I thought that he really _had_ died. Then, I felt a heartbeat. He was still alive! Just…knocked out.

The ambulance arrived right on time, and took Ryou away. Just as the ambulance left, Ryou's dad, Jonathan, drove to the school. I suppose that he was going to pick Ryou up from school today. Jonathan obviously saw the blood, and looked around in shock.

"Where's Ryou?" he called to me. I gritted my teeth and looked away. Truthfully, I didn't want to tell him. I didn't want him to know that Ryou was hurt so badly. "Marik, please tell me. Whose blood is that?"

"It…it's Ryou's," I said, just loud enough for Jonathan to hear. Jonathan's eyes widened in shock.

"Where is he??!" he yelled.

"Malik called an ambulance, and he's on his way into the ER," I quickly replied. Jonathan cursed under his breath, and sped out of the school parking lot. He was definitely breaking at least three different traffic rules, but he didn't seem to care. The only thing Bakura, Malik, and I could do was pile into my car, and follow him.

-

_Bakura's POV_

Oh God…my Ryou. I'd seen him die before my very eyes. After losing so much blood, and hitting his head so hard, there was no way he could have survived. It was impossible. Marik tried to convince me that he'd heard a heartbeat, but I didn't believe him. I wanted to, with all my heart, but somehow, deep down, I knew that he was gone.

We arrived at the hospital, and waited with Jonathan and Mai in the waiting room. They were extremely worried, and Mai was sobbing. Jonathan clasped his hands together, bowed his head so it was almost touching his wrists, and whispered a prayer. I was agnostic, but at this time, it seemed right. I prayed silently, clasping my hands as well and looking to the floor.

_Please, God…please let him be alive._ A single tear fell from my eye, and I felt my mind reeling. The scene of Ryou tripping and bleeding played over and over in my mind, like horrible, horrible torture. I'd rather be eaten alive than this.

I sobbed a bit, and Malik patted my back gently. Jonathan was still praying, and now Mai had joined him. She was still crying, as was I.

An eternity seemed to pass.

Finally, a doctor came out of the ICU. He walked over to Jonathan, just as he finished his prayer.

I held my breath in anticipation.

-

_Jonathan's POV_

For the longest time, all I could do was stare at the doctor. Ryou was alive? When I'd seen all that blood on the ground, I was certain that he would be dead. I whispered my thanks to the Lord.

"Is he awake?" I asked the doctor. The doctor paused a moment.

"I'm not sure when he'll wake up, if ever," he replied. "Your son went into a coma while we were bandaging and stitching his wound." Again, all I could do was stare.

"A coma," I whispered. Marik, Malik, Bakura, and Mai were all shocked. They stared at the doctor as well, and I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes. I placed my hand over my mouth, and looked around. "Oh, God," I whispered. "This isn't happening."

"I'm afraid it is."

"But Ryou's a teenager! Only middle-aged adults go into comas!" I said, standing up.

"The trauma to his head was extremely great. That sort of force can easily send someone into a coma," the doctor said. "No matter what their age is," he added.

"When will he wake up?"

"I'm not sure," the man repeated. "But the first three hours are critical. If he doesn't wake up within those three, there's a chance that he'll never wake up again. So, we have him under careful monitoring for the time being. He's been hooked up to life support machines, and hopefully, after just an hour or so, he'll be awake. Also…there's a chance that when he wakes up, he'll have high brain damage." I stared.

"What do you mean?" I whispered.

"He could suffer from memory loss, mental retardation, or several other things. He may be paralyzed, who knows. It all depends on how bad he hit the ground, which area of the brain was damaged, and how long he's in the coma," the doctor explained. I sat down again. The man's pager beeped, and he hurried down a hallway, disappearing. I looked up at Bakura, almost pleadingly. He looked back at me.

"Bakura," I said softly. "If Ryou changes from this, will you still love him?" Bakura seemed startled by the question.

"Of course!" was his immediate answer. "I…I'd do anything for him. When he wakes up, if he has amnesia, I'll help him remember things. If he's paralyzed, I'll do whatever I can to make his life easier. And above all, I'll love him." I smiled, pleased with the response. Bakura, despite his somewhat sharp appearance, was actually a decent kid.

"Thank you," I said.

"I'd do whatever I could anyway, Mr. Bakura," he said.

"Call me Jonathan," I said. Truthfully, I wanted him to call me "dad", but that would probably seem odd in this situation.

"Alright, um, Jonathan," Bakura replied. We waited in anticipation, hoping for the best.

-

_Malik's POV_

After waiting for almost three hours, we had no news on Ryou's condition. Well, except for the occasionally, "We're doing all we can to revive him," statement. It was depressing, to say the least. I looked to Bakura, then to Marik, and realized how thankful I was for him. Marik helped me through the toughest times in my life. Without him, I'd probably still have nightmares about the Halloween Dance. I remembered breaking up with him just a couple days ago, and suddenly felt extremely guilty. Paired with the worry for Ryou's life, that put me in a depressing mood. Sighing, I gently gripped Marik's arm and leaned against him.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a murmur. I sighed again.

"I'm worried," I replied. "Why did this have to happen?" I looked to Jonathan. He was praying again, and had been for the last ten minutes or so. I mentally said my own prayer to Allah, since I felt extremely religious all of a sudden.

"I can't exactly say why," Marik said softly. "I wish that I could somehow wake him up." I nodded, gazing at nothing in particular.

"Me, too."

Finally, a doctor walked to us. We looked up, hoping for the best.

"He isn't waking up," the man said softly. "I'm so sorry, we tried our hardest. There's no telling when he'll wake up, if he ever does." We gasped, and Mai cried again. Bakura hung his head and stared directly at the ground in front of him. Jonathan was silent, probably in disbelief. "You can visit him if you want; sometimes it takes a certain voice or touch to awake someone from a coma," the doctor offered. We nodded, and Jonathan and Mai went to Ryou first.

All I could do was sit and hope, and pray for Ryou's life.

-

_Mai's POV_

So what if I wasn't Ryou's mother yet? I loved him like he was my own son, and I had this maternal instinct to protect him. Today, I'd failed to do so. I was crushed. Jonathan sat next to Ryou, and gently held his son's hand, while I sat on the other side of the bed and stroked his face.

"Ryou, if you can hear me, please wake up," Jonathan was begging in a whisper. "Please. I need to hear your voice again. Please tell me that you'll be alright." This had to be extremely hard for him; Ryou was his only child, and his first wife had died years ago. I imagined that he felt like the loneliest man on earth right now.

"Ryou, we miss you already," I said gently. "Please wake up." Of course, Ryou made no reaction. It was like he was dead, and someone had, in a valiant attempt, tried to keep him alive by hooking him up to machines. He couldn't do anything on his own right now. He was trapped inside his own body. But he looked peaceful, at the very least.

Jonathan and I left thirty minutes later, deciding that Bakura could possibly wake him up. While we waited, we could only hope that our idea worked.

-

_Bakura's POV_

I clutched Ryou's hand tightly, never wanting to let go. I stroked his hair, kissed him, even tickled him under his arm, but nothing I did made him react. All I heard was the beeping of the heart monitor. Marik and Malik were also in the room, but left me to try and wake him. I was grateful for that—right now, all that mattered was Ryou.

"Ryou, wake up," I said softly. It came out like a whimper, like a lost child. That's what I sounded like—a child, surrounded by unfamiliar faces.

And truthfully, I was lost. Ryou had helped me in my time of need, twice now. I would've died had it not been for him. He was…everything to me. I gently shook his body, and begged him to come back. Marik and Malik had to stop me, since I was apparently moving him too much, and could accidently disconnect the life support he was on. I resorted to clutching his hand and putting my head, face down, on the hospital bed.

"Ryou, come back, please. I'm lost," I whispered to him. He just continued to snooze on peacefully, as if nothing was wrong. I supposed that he was blissfully ignorant to all of us.

-

_Ryou's POV_

"…What?" I mumbled, staring at the world around me. It was, quite honestly, the messiest place I'd ever been in. Yet strangely, I felt totally relaxed here. I saw a bed in one corner. Honestly, I wanted to lie back in it and take a nap. I stepped towards it, when something touched my shoulder. I gasped and flicked around.

"Who are you??!" I demanded. Standing in front of me was a person I only vaguely recognized. Like she'd worked at a store I visited before. Maybe I was having a _déjà vu_. The woman laughed, obviously at my confusion. However, I do want to point out that being relaxed and confused at the same time is quite an odd sensation.

"Who am I?" she repeated. "You don't remember?"

"How can I remember someone I've never met?" I replied.

"You've never met me?" she said. "I know you. I've known you for a very long time, Ryou. Longer than you've ever lived." I blinked. My initial thought was that she was a stalker, but if she'd known me longer than my life…

"Are you God?" I asked, totally serious. Because if this was God, and if I was an atheist, I was screwed. She cracked up again.

"Of course not!" she replied. "If I was God, I'd probably have a halo. Like Jesus, when He was born."

"Oh." I was dumbstruck. "Then…who are you?"

"I'll give you a hint. Every day you see me, but I don't speak, move, or even blink," she said. I thought hard, looking around the area to see if there were any clues.

"I…don't know."

"Do you have a fireplace in your home?" she asked. I nodded. "Think about that." I remembered it occasionally being lit, and dad talking to me about how mom loved fires, and pointing at the mantle for some reason. Then I'd look up at the mantle and see a group of photographs…

"Mom!" I exclaimed. She chuckled.

"I was wondering when you'd get it," she said with a smile. I stared at her for a long time.

"How did—why are—am I dead??!" I asked. She laughed and shook her head.

"What, no hug or tears?" she said.

"Well, if you're my mom, it doesn't matter if we hug or I cry! Am I dead?" I repeated.

"No, no. You're just in a coma," she replied. I gasped.

"But…how?"

"Think hard, Ryou. Today, after school, you and three other boys were walking down the stairs." I nodded, suddenly remembering. "Who were the boys?"

"Um…" A picture formed in my head. "Bakura, Malik, and Marik." She nodded, and some of the mess in the room cleared. Not a lot, though.

"What were you doing with them?"

"Talking. About…what happened at lunch today. And I was laughing. It was something funny, but…" I gritted my teeth, frowning. Again, a little of the mess cleared up.

"Think, Ryou," she said.

"Oh! Marik pretended to go out with Ribbon, and Malik got mad at him! I was laughing at his expression when he saw Ribbon and Marik kissing!" I said. "And…when I laughed…I wasn't paying attention, so I tripped…and I fell." I paused. "I hurt my head. Badly. Is that why I'm in a coma?"

"Yes, exactly." More of the mess cleared.

"What exactly is this place?" I asked.

"Well, a coma is similar to having a near-death experience. You can either choose to die, or choose to return to the living world," she said. I blinked.

"But it's so nice here. I'm totally relaxed," I said.

"Yes, that's what happened to me," she replied.

"Then how are you here, if this is sort of a half-world?"

"I chose to be here. When you die, things completely change. If you have children, you become their guardian angel," she said with a smile. I blinked.

"So…you're here to help me or something?" She nodded.

"You hit the nail right on the head."

"What's that bed for?" I asked.

"That's one of the choices you can make."

"And this mess is a choice I can make, too?" I asked.

"Yep. Go closer to the mess, and see what happens." I walked closer to it, as she said, and felt my body grow weary. I felt weak, like I'd been working all day. I returned to her.

"That _has_ to be death," I said.

"Why do you think so?"

"Well, death is a bad thing. I got all tired and weak there, so it had to be death," I explained. I paused, and stepped closer to the bed. My body grew even more relaxed; it was like I was melting.

"This is definitely life! All I have to do is sleep here, right, and I'll return?" She shook her head, and I blinked.

"Nope. Believe me, Ryou, death is extremely easy. It's the easiest thing you can do. However, living is hard. Right?" I paused again, and nodded. Dad had proved that to me once already.

"Yeah, it is really tough," I decided. "So…what do I have to do to wake up?" She pointed to the mess.

"Clean it. Simple as that." I gasped.

"But…it's huge! It's impossible!" I exclaimed. "Isn't there a way out?"

"Yes. Just go die, if you don't want to get out," she replied. Despite the sentence, she sounded strangely friendly. I looked to the bed. It would be extremely easy to just lie down and fall asleep, but the mess was intimidating.

But…

"What about dad? What about Mai? And Bakura, Malik, and Marik? What would they do?"

"Well, I _could_ give you a sneak peek," she said. She pointed through the mess, to a window on the other side. "Look through there." I squinted my eyes, peering through it.

"That's Bakura," I said. "He's…sobbing."

"Why do you think he's so sad?"

"Because I'm in a coma?" I guessed. She nodded. "Marik and Malik are there, too. They look so depressed. Is this because of me?" She nodded again.

"They really love you, Ryou. As a friend, boyfriend, and Mai and Jonathan? You're their son, as well as mine," she said. "How could they not be sad? Even though I'm finally speaking to you, I'm sad that we had to meet like this." She frowned a bit. I stepped closer and hugged her gently.

"I've always wanted to meet you," I mumbled. "I don't care how." She smiled.

"Sorry for dying."

"It wasn't your fault," I replied. "It was mine. If I hadn't been born…you'd still be alive." I sighed softly, closing my eyes.

"Don't say that. I'm the one who chose the bed over the mess, right?" she said, patting my hair. "In fact, I never want you to think that again. If you do, I'll know. I'm practically always with you, and even if I'm not, I have a spy."

"You have a _spy_??! Is it George?" I demanded, pulling away and staring at her. She laughed again.

"That old coot? No, no. I might tell you later. But my spy's on the mantle, too," she said.

"Dad?"

"Nope. You keep guessing. I have to go now," she said, a little sadly.

"What??! But we have to talk about so many things!" I said as she turned to leave. She sighed.

"I know, I know. We can probably catch up another day," she replied.

"But…you're my mother! I'll never see you again! You're dead!"

"I don't want to leave as much as you don't want me to," she said, turning and sighing.

"Are you going to help me return to life?" I asked softly. She smiled.

"I wish I could, but this is your job. You've grown up to be a fine, son, Ryou. I'm proud of you." With that said, she disappeared in a bright flash of golden light. I gasped, staring.

I was alone, with only one thing to do.

TBC

Mew: RYOU, MEET YOUR MAKER.

Draiku: Dun-dun-dunnnn. Go figure.

Mew: Do I deserve to be shot for making Ryou go into a coma?

Draiku, Yoko, and many other readers: YES.

Mew: -flinch- Sor-ry. Sheesh.

Yoko: Thanks for reading everyone! As usual, please R&R! Let Mew know that she sucks. –grin-


	28. Heart

Mew: Sheesh, this story's getting long.

Draiku: You can say that again.

Mew: Anyway, this'll hopefully be a heart-stopping chapter for you. So…enjoy!

ALSO! Thank you so much for 500 reviews! You truly are the greatest people ever! In return, here's a rather romantic chapter (and, as afore mentioned, heart-stopping).

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku refuses to claim that she owns Yu-Gi-Oh due to the possibility of getting sued.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 28: Heart

_Jonathan's POV_

Life without Ryou was quiet and consistent. However, it wasn't pleasant at all. As a parent, I missed his teenage drama, his inability to function in the morning, and his incessant whining about his grades. Okay, so the whining wasn't too bad, but it seemed loud and obnoxious compared to what I was doing now.

Mai and I visited him every day, talked to him about current events, things like that. Bakura always wanted to come with us, and when he couldn't, he always seemed depressed. I invited him over every now and then. He reminded me of Ryou, as far as looks go. He even attended church with Mai and I. Bakura was a good kid, to say the least.

"…Amen," I murmured, praying next to Ryou's bed. Bakura and Mai were there, as usual, finishing the prayer as well. I gently held Ryou's hand, hoping that he'd make some sort of reaction. As usual, there was none. I sighed.

"Thank you for coming with us, Bakura," I said, looking to the boy. "I'm sure Ryou would appreciate it." We smiled at each other.

"I hope he does," Bakura said. "I enjoy coming with you. It sort of makes me feel more confident that he'll wake up soon."

"Good to hear," I said. Mai told Ryou about what had happened today, and I sighed softly. It had been three months since Ryou went into the coma. There were some times that I really doubted that he'd wake up, but I always slapped myself for feeling that way. I had faith in God, but I had even more faith in Ryou right now.

-

_Marik's POV_

Malik and I tried to visit Ryou at least twice a week, to tell him about what was going on in school, how much the teachers missed him, yadda-yadda-yadda. The basics, you know? Even if he was unconscious, I had a feeling that somewhere deep inside, he could hear our words. But just in case, we recorded us chatting "at" him so he could hear us when he woke up.

"Oh yeah, and you have even more homework to make up, so you need to wake up, Ryou," I finished one day. Malik gently hit my shoulder.

"Don't _scare_ him. Then he'll never want to wake up! Ryou, the teachers are excusing you from most of the assignments. I've been collecting them. So far, you have a total of three to make up, and they're all vocabulary crap. Alright?" Malik said. "And Marik forgot to mention that the Bats were actually chosen to make a record for that contest we entered. Isn't that awesome?"

"Malik, you told him that two months ago," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Shut up, I'm excited. Anyway, Marik wrote most of the songs for us, and we worked the guitar, bass, and drums around it. Our manager says that we're great! Hopefully we'll get on the top 100 list, at least," Malik continued. I sighed. I knew it was a big deal to him, but it was a free recording from a crap company. Even if they did get sales, it wouldn't be much.

"So, I guess what Malik's saying is, when it comes out, be sure to buy a copy," I said. Malik laughed.

"Well, it _does_ have my beautiful voice on it." He began to sing in opera style, and I laughed.

"Keep singing like that and you'll wake Ryou!" I warned. He winked and sang louder, until a nurse finally came in and told us to shut up.

"Anyway, Ryou, we miss you! You need to wake up soon, okay? Your parents miss you, Bakura misses you, Marik and I miss you, the teachers miss you, Mana and Shizuka miss you, even Honda and Ribbon miss you! You know my siblings, Isis and Rishid? Well, they always ask me if you're awake or not. It's getting depressing to tell them the same thing every day," Malik said. "And Marik's mom misses you a lot! You have to wake up, you just have to!" He clutched Ryou's hand and smiled sadly at him. "Come on, Ryou. We trust in you."

As part of our newly-made tradition, we waited five minutes for a reaction. Finally, Malik sighed and let go of Ryou's hand.

"Well, bye, Ryou. We'll see you later," I said. We left quietly, taking the tape with us.

-

_Ryou's POV_

Cleaning the mess was exhausting. I always shoved it in front of the bed, so it wouldn't tempt me, but somehow the mess always came back. Sometimes I'd take a rest for a day, then when I woke up, the mess only looked large. When I inspected further, I discovered that the bed was clear. So, I just organized it how it should be, and did my best to pretend that the bed didn't exist.

Most of the time while I was cleaning, I'd suddenly get this huge burst of energy. Like I'd been drinking coffee non-stop for an hour. I'd clean faster, until I finally crashed and went at my slow pace again.

It was extremely lonely in this world. There was no one here except me. Mom didn't visit anymore, which probably made me the saddest. Some days I just curled up in the corner and sobbed. I missed her so, so much. I remembered telling people that I couldn't miss someone that I'd never known, but now that I knew her…it hurt. A lot.

Sometimes the mess looked as high as mount Everest, other times it looked fairly reasonable. I wondered why it changed appearance so often. I'd probably never know, of course.

But all this time, I wondered who mom's spy was. That was my main motivation. I had to know who was keeping me "connected" to her. Some days, though, I could care less. Some days, I just wanted to be at home again.

While I was cleaning, that burst of energy hit. It was great, to say the least. I probably cleared another thousandth of the mess in just that short amount of time.

However, at the rate I was going, it seemed impossible. I swear, sometimes that bed was just calling my name…

-

_Mai's POV_

Ryou seemed incredibly distant whenever we visited him, even though he was right there. It was an odd feeling, seeing your future son in a coma. I wondered what it was like. Did he just have no thoughts, or was he thinking and conscious, just detached from his body?

What concerned me was what would happen to him after he woke up. I wondered if he'd even be the same person. I'd love him no matter what, as any good parent would. I always feared that he'd end up like the kid in the wheelchair at the high school. His name was Hank, and he'd gone into a coma when he was young. When he woke up, he was paralyzed. He couldn't even speak, or smile, or laugh. If he wanted to express happiness, he had to type it into a computer with oversized keys, and it would speak for him. It's exact words were, "I am happy."

I didn't want Ryou to end up like that. Even if he ended up successful despite the disability, it would be an extremely hard life. I'd rather him lose his legs or hearing than his entire body, essentially.

I expressed my concerns to Jon while we were going to bed one night. He was worried about it, too, but he doubted that it would be that serious.

"We don't even know exactly what part of his brain was injured, Mai," he said to me, holding me in his warm embrace. "For all we know, he could wake up and be perfectly fine, just with a mild headache, I imagine."

"I hope so," I mumbled. I turned over so I was facing him, and I rested my head on his chest.

"I just want him to wake up. I'd like to see his eyes again. I haven't seen his eyes in a long time," Jon murmured. I nodded.

"Me, too," I said softly. "He has such big, brown eyes. Like a puppy." Jon chuckled.

"That was his nickname when he was in elementary school. He hated me for it," he said. "He used to like it until he got to fourth or fifth grade." I chuckled as well.

"That's how it is with kids," I said. "I did that too. My mother called me Elly."

"Elly?" Jon repeated. I nodded.

"Short for 'elephant'. I was the fattest kid in second grade! But I love elephants, so mom called me that so I wouldn't be so sad about being fat," I said. "Then she stopped around fourth or fifth grade, at my request."

"Of course," Jon said with a chuckle.

"Did you have a nickname?"

"No, dad and mom never paid that much attention to me," he replied. "My name was just Jonathan with them. They were busy with work."

"That stinks," I commented.

"I've gotten over it." We finally fell asleep, silently praying to God to make Ryou wake up.

-

_Ryou's POV_

I stared at the mess in front of me. It wasn't getting any smaller. Just barely. What I was doing was pointless. There was no way it could possibly be done. I sighed, whispered an apology, and turned to the bed.

-

_Mana's POV_

I was in the room when Ryou's heart monitor went crazy. It became a straight line, and made a loud, ringing noise. I screamed for help while Marik pushed the button that would call the nurses. Malik grabbed Ryou's hand, begging for him to wake up, while Jonathan and Mai did the same. Bakura sobbed and had to be held back from him by Shizuka. He was hysterical.

"Ryou, no! Don't give up!" Jonathan yelled. He grabbed Ryou's hand and prayed, just as the doctors rushed in. They made us stand to the side, forcing us over like cattle. Bakura was still crying for Ryou, and Marik and Malik held him back again. The doctors got out some sort of device—I recognized it from movies, but I couldn't remember the name. They pressed two handles to Ryou's naked chest.

"Clear!" the doctor holding it yelled. We heard a jolt, and Ryou's body jerked unnaturally.

"Oh, God! Please!" Bakura cried. "Ryou, no! Don't die!"

"Clear!" the doctor yelled again, while a nurse attempted to calm down Bakura. It was impossible to quiet him. Shizuka and I sobbed, Jonathan prayed, Mai tried to calm Bakura as well, and Marik and Malik just kept holding him.

It was chaotic.

"Clear!" the doctor yelled a third time, or maybe a fourth time. I didn't know. All I could see was Ryou's body jerking with each zap. It was so sickening, so unnatural. I hated seeing it, but I couldn't look away.

It was impossible.

"Clear!" Again, his body jerked. Bakura finally fell to his knees, sobbing, and Mai tried to quiet him. I closed my eyes, trying to wake up from this horrible dream. All I wanted to do was go to school and see Ryou there, alive and well.

It was surreal.

All I could do was pray, and hope to God that Ryou wouldn't be taken.

-

_Ryou's POV_

The bed was alive. It was jumping and trying to throw me off. Each time it did, the mess became smaller. However, I stuck to the bed. I wasn't going to try to clean that mess again. It had already been deemed impossible, so it was.

Suddenly, I heard a voice.

"Ryou, damn you! I can't wait any longer!"

It was Bakura. I gasped and sat up, staring at the window. I could hear him! His voice was loud and clear! Now, I actually _wanted_ to get out of the bed. But somehow…I just couldn't.

With sudden realization, I screamed for help. I was trapped in my own snare.

-

_Bakura's POV_

I managed to break free of Marik and Malik. I instantly dropped to one knee in front of Ryou.

"Ryou, listen, I know you can hear me!" I yelled.

"Clear!" the doctor commanded. Ryou's body jerked. I flinched.

"I was going to ask your parents for permission, but it's either now or never. Ryou, I love you! I promise, no matter what, I'll always be there for you," I declared. I reached into the inner pocket of my coat and pulled out a small case, covered with black velvet. It clicked open, revealing a simple ring with a small ruby in it. I carefully slipped it onto Ryou's finger, feeling a little guilty. He couldn't even approve, but still…

"Will you promise the same to me?" I asked, holding his hand. The doctors, by now, stood back and stared at me. "Will you always be there for me, no matter what?"

His heart still wasn't beating, and I stared at him. He was gone.

-

_Ryou's POV_

I gasped and leapt out of the bed, landing on all fours on the floor. Something had just booted me out. I was free again! And I'd heard every single one of Bakura's words.

"Yes!" I yelled, standing. "Yes! I love you, Bakura! I'll come back to you, I promise!" I fisted my hands and ran for the mess. It wasn't as large as it had been before. Each time the bed jerked, it had actually grown smaller. I quickly picked it up, going as fast as I could. I heard Mai and my dad, I heard Marik and Malik, I heard Bakura's sobs, and even Mana and Shizuka were there!

Grinning, I picked up the last item in the way of the window. It was pair of jeans, nothing more. I decided that I didn't feel like taking so much time to actually put it away, so I slipped them on. I immediately opened the window and spread my arms.

The smell of the hospital room was wonderful.

-

_Ryou's POV (and it will remain like this for the rest of the story unless stated otherwise.)_

Standing around me were all of my best friends. Bakura, Marik, Malik, Mana, Shizuka, Mai, and my father.

I felt exhausted—groggy, even. My sight was a little blurry, but it didn't matter. I could see them. I was awake. I was alive!

"R-ryou?" my dad whispered. I smiled weakly, but when I heard his voice, I suddenly forgot why I was here in the first place.

"What happened?" I asked, and rubbed my head. I could remember an accident, and blood everywhere, but everything after that was total blank.

"Ryou!" Bakura cried, hugging me tightly. I gasped, blushing, and heard a series of beeps going faster. Marik and Malik snickered at me.

"Am I on life support or something?" I asked.

"You were," Mai explained with a sad smile. "You've been in a coma for three months now." I blinked.

"I…was?" I asked. She nodded. "What about school?"

"They excused you from just about everything," Mai replied with a chuckle. "I'm so glad you're back. She gently held my hand and smiled as Bakura pulled away.

"I missed you," he murmured.

"I'm so glad you're awake again," my dad said, hugging me gently. "The house has been so quiet." It was an odd feeling to listen to them while they talked about me being gone. I couldn't remember anything about being gone at all. I didn't remember missing them, but I probably would have. I hugged my dad back, and smiled.

"You honestly don't remember anything?" Shizuka asked. I shook my head. I suddenly blinked, and stared at a ring around my finger.

"Who…?" I mumbled, and my eyes met Bakura's. "Bakura…?" I said, too surprised to say anything else.

"It's a promise ring," he explained. "Not like an engagement ring. It means that I'll always be there for you, no matter what." He smiled, and I grinned back. "So will you?" My dad moved away so Bakura could sit next to me and hold my hand.

"Yes!" was my immediate, loud response. "Yes! I love you, Bakura!" I hugged him tightly, grinning and crying at the same time. He hugged me back, stroking my hair gently.

"I love you, too," he whispered back. I just wanted to melt in his embrace and stay like this forever.

-

When visiting hours were over, I finally decided to go to the bathroom. Truthfully, I'd been holding it in since it was embarrassing to go in front of them. I tried to get up, but I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move at all. They were completely still. I tore the sheets off my bed and stared at them in disbelief. I tried to move my toes. They wiggled slightly, but every other part of my leg was paralyzed.

Frantically, I pressed the "Call Nurse" button. She arrived a bit under a minute later.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing my expression.

"I can't move my legs," I replied worriedly. She blinked and walked over. Placing two fingers on my ankle, she looked up at me.

"Can you feel this?" she asked. I nodded. She gradually moved up, asking the same question for each leg. "Alright, your legs aren't dead. That's good. We won't have to amputate," she said. I shuddered at the thought. "Hold on a moment while I get your doctor."

"C-could I go to the bathroom, first?" I asked, my bladder about to explode. She nodded and helped me into a wheelchair, so I could get there and out while she was gone. I was glad that my hospital outfit didn't have pants, so I wouldn't have to struggle with pulling them down.

When I finished, I saw the doctor waiting for me. This was only the second time I'd seen him; the first was when I'd just woken up from the coma. I didn't even know his name.

"So you're legs aren't moving?" he asked. I nodded and he helped me back into my bed.

"Y-yeah," I replied, still a bit shocked.

"Can you move anything near or around your legs?" I nodded again.

"My toes still work," I said. "And my ankles, a little."

"Good. And you still have sensation in them?" I nodded yet again. "Great. Your brain was probably damaged a little, so that's why you can't move them." I gasped.

"Will they heal?" I asked.

"With lots of physical therapy, yes," he replied. "It will probably take a while, though. So you'll have to use the wheelchair for now." I nodded, relieved that they'd actually heal.

"Thank you," I said. He nodded and left silently. I carefully pulled the blankets over my body and decided that sleep would be best for me now.

TBC

Mew: -gasp- RYOU CAN'T WALK!

Draiku: -stares- Then how is he going to sneak out of the house so he and Bakura can have sex?

Mew: I…don't know. Poor Ryou.

Yoko: Thanks for reading! As always, please R&R!


	29. Tryout

Mew: I'm horrible for torturing Ryou so damn much.

Draiku: True, that.

Mew: Is that it? No insults?

Draiku: -nods- I'm tired and I want to sleep. –falls over and sleeps, as predicted-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku sadly doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh because she sucks. –insert sad face here-

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 29: Tryout

When I called my dad to tell him about my legs, he seemed shocked.

"You can't walk?" he asked.

"Yeah. I still have sensation in them, and my toes still move, so hopefully with a bit of work they can start moving again," I explained. "The doctor says that there's a chance that they can fix them, but I won't be able to run too fast or jump to high." He sighed.

"Well, it could be worse," he said. I nodded, agreeing. "Should Mai and I move your room to the guest room, since you don't need to go up any stairs to get to it?" he asked.

"That would help a lot," I said. "Thank you."

"No problem. We'll also try and build a makeshift ramp on the porch for you," he added.

"It probably won't be permanent, so don't make it too hard to build," I said.

"Still, after all you've been through, I want to make your life a lot easier."

"It's fine, really, but thanks."

"Anyway, is there any news on when you can come home?" he asked.

"They said that they wanted to keep me here a while until they're positive I won't go into another coma. Apparently, there's a chance that I could re-enter it while I'm asleep or something, so they're monitoring me," I explained. "However, it wouldn't be as bad as last time." He paused again.

"Please don't go into another coma," he said softly.

"I won't. I promise," I said. He sighed.

"Thank you. I should let you rest, son, so goodnight," he said. I smiled.

"Alright. Goodnight, dad. See you tomorrow." We hung up, and I lied down, closing my eyes.

-

A few days later, I was finally released from the hospital. My doctor (whose name I learned to be Doctor Pegasus) was convinced that I was healthy enough to go. However, I'd have to return every other day for therapy.

"So it's just your legs?" Marik asked while we sat together at lunch. I nodded.

"Yeah. I can still move my toes and ankles, just not my knees or much anything else," I explained. "They said that they'd be able to fix it, but it'd be painful." Bakura frowned a little. "It's alright, I'll be fine," I said with a smile.

"If you need anything, anything at all, after your therapy, just tell me," he said.

"Thanks," I replied. "But I keep wondering something. Did you ever tell your mom about us?" He nodded.

"Yeah, just three days ago. She asked me why I'd bought the ring, since she saw the receipt, and I told her," he explained. "She was happy for me, and she said that she knew since she first saw you that we were in love."

"So she didn't mind?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yep. She even said that she was glad I finally 'came out', because otherwise she'd have to do it for me." He laughed a bit. I smiled at him.

"Good," I said.

"Hey, Ryou? Can I ask you something?" Marik said. I nodded. "What was it like, being in a coma?"

"Yeah, I was wondering that too," Malik commented.

"Same here, actually," Bakura added. I blinked, and tried to remember.

"I don't know," I said. "It's just…blank. It was like I never was in a coma at all. But when I got home last night, I looked on the fireplace mantle and saw mom's picture. For some reason, I felt this weird connection."

"Maybe she visited you while you were comatose?" Bakura suggested. I chuckled.

"I doubt that," I replied. Bakura chuckled as well.

"Yeah, you're right. Did you feel different afterwards, aside from that?"

"Not really," I said. "Sorry, guys. I can't remember a single thing."

"That's alright," Malik said with a laugh. "For some reason, I had a feeling that you wouldn't. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. Marik and I visited you every few days, and we recorded what we said so you could listen to them and get filled in, basically. I'll bring the tapes to you tonight, if you want."

"Thanks," I said, grinning. "I really appreciate that."

"No problem." The bell rang and Bakura handed me my backpack.

"Here, you hold this and I'll take you to our next class," he said. I smiled.

"Thanks," I said again. He wheeled me to the elevator, and we headed up. It was a slow ride, to say the least. Bakura gently hugged me from behind, kissing my cheek.

"I'm glad you're back," he murmured. I smiled and touched his hand gently.

"Me, too," I said. He turned my head with his gentle hand, and kissed my lips tenderly. I kissed him back, and his tongue slid into my mouth. I opened my eyes to look at his expression, and mentally smiled as I returned the favor. He tasted delicious, as always. The elevator door slid open. We gasped and pulled away a few seconds later, even though it was just Mai.

"You two know that you aren't allowed to have personal displays of affection, right?" she said while she helped some kid on crutches.

"It wasn't exactly public," I explained. "We were in the elevator."

"Alright, I'll let it go, then," she said with a wink. I laughed and Bakura nervously wheeled me out, thanking her. He probably wasn't used to that just yet.

-

After school, Marik, Malik, Bakura, and I gathered around a paper taped to the wall. It was about the upcoming school play—a musical about a princess who falls in love with some peasant man.

"So are you going to sign up?" Malik asked Marik.

"Sure. I've been in every school play, right?" Marik replied with a grin, signing his name.

"If there's no dancing, I'll sign up," I said. I'd been in most of the plays too.

"I suppose I will if you are," Bakura said, signing our names down. Malik shrugged and jumped onto the bandwagon.

"Tryouts are tomorrow," he said. "And we all signed up for a main part. This'll be interesting," he added, chuckling. To say the least, I agreed with him.

-

Bakura and I watched Marik and Malik while they tried out for the parts of the peasant man and the prince who was originally supposed to marry the princess. Marik was the peasant, and Malik was the prince. It was fun to watch—they were great actors.

"What did you say?" Malik asked in a demanding voice, reading off the script.

"I need to repeat myself? My, a man of your position cannot understand such simple words. I love her, and she loves me. You have no chance with her," Marik replied in his most stubborn, arrogant voice. Which, I may add, was very, very arrogant, and equally stubborn.

"And what does her father say about you?" Malik answered, glaring. "Tell me; has he said anything?"

"I've no clue what the man thinks of me, and I could care less," Marik said. "Words will never get in the way of our love."

"Well, I know what he thinks of you, you pig. He believes that you are nothing more than a stray dog—a man wandering the streets, begging for spare change. You are worthless! You are nothing more than a mud-wallowing swine!" Malik yelled. Marik recoiled in character.

"A swine, am I? Look at yourself, you wasp! You're nothing more than a jealous insect!"

"A wasp still stings the swine, peasant. And such a sting can kill the swine, be it in large quantities."

"And there is only one of you. Sting, if you will, it will do no harm," Marik said.

"Oh, please," the girl, who was acting as the princess said. "Do not harm my, uh, my love?" Marik and Malik paused to stare at her. She was, to be polite, the worst actress there ever was. It was painful.

"Then I shall take you up on that offer!" Malik said, grabbing the wooden spoon he was currently using as a sword. Marik gasped dramatically as Malik let out a cry and charged.

"Wait!" the director yelled. "That's good. Excellent, actually. Malik—do me a favor and read the princess' part?" Malik blinked.

"Um, okay," he said. "Prince Reginald, please don't harm my beloved! I beg of you—I would die without him! Please, Reginald, if you truly love me, then don't!" Surprisingly, he did an excellent job for the girl part. The director scribbled something down, and looked to Marik.

"You do the prince's part," he said. Marik nodded.

"But Marianne! How could I possibly refrain from killing this swine??! He stole you from me—he stole my everything! I love you, Marianne! Can you not see that??!" he said, looking to Malik desperately.

"Good, good," the director mumbled. "Bakura, get out here!" he called. "You do the peasant's part."

"Reginald, there is nothing you can do about it," Bakura read. "I've seen what you did to her family."

"What are you saying, Ashton?" Malik asked, turning to Bakura. "What has he done to my family?"

"This insect has killed your brother—and he blamed it on the village blacksmith! He killed the blacksmith to gain your father's trust and respect!" Bakura explained, pointing at Marik.

"You bastard! How dare you sputter such blatant lies!" he snarled.

"Reginald, is this true?" Malik asked, stepping towards Marik and placing his hands on Marik's chest, like the script said. "Tell me the truth. Did you kill Henry?" He gazed up into Marik's eyes, and Marik glanced away. Finally, he gave a depressed sigh, and turned away from Malik. He held his head in a hand, bowing it. His shoulder slumped, and his "sword" clattered to the floor. He pretended to cry.

"Y-yes, Marianne, it's true. I killed your younger brother," he murmured, just loud enough to be heard. Malik gasped.

"You…you! But why??!" he demanded angrily.

"I loved you, Marianne! The ends justify the means…don't they?" Marik yelled, turning to Malik. Malik narrowed his eyes at him.

"No, Reginald, they don't," she whispered. Marik collapsed to his knees, staring at Malik while he returned to Bakura's side.

"Swine, you murdered an innocent child for your own, selfish desire," Bakura hissed. Marik gazed up at Malik.

"Despite your feelings towards me now, Marianne, I still love you," he said softly. He lifted the wooden spoon, and "stabbed" himself in the stomach. Coughing and choking and gasping, he keeled over, and "died". The director stood and applauded loudly.

"Wonderful! Absolutely magnificent! Malik, you will be Marianne, Marik will be Reginald, Bakura will be Ashton, and Ryou…Ryou, since you can't walk at the moment, you can work the spotlight with Yugi, on the other spotlight," the director said.

"What??!" Malik demanded. "I have to play a _girl_??!"

"You're her, Malik! Just cooperate—none of the girls who tried out were very good at all. You're the only one who can do this part! Please, for the sake of the school!" the director said. It was compelling enough to make Malik accept.

This would _definitely_ be an interesting play.

-

After school that day, when I stared up at the mantle, I felt an odd connection with the photos. There were five up there—one of Jonathan and Mai together, one of mom, one of me, and one of Angel. I blinked, wondering why the picture of Angel was right next to the one of my mother.

"Dad?" I asked. He was sitting on the couch, reading, but he looked to me.

"What is it?" he replied. I pointed at the mantle.

"Why is Angel next to mom and not you?" I said. He paused and walked over.

"Well, I'm marrying Mai now, for one thing," he said. "It might be rude to do that. I still love your mother, Ryou, but she's gone now. I need to move on. For another thing, the picture of Angel just looks like it works there, doesn't it?" I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. It almost looks like they're partners in crime or something," I said with a laugh. He laughed as well.

"Your mother loved Angel quite a lot, Ryou," he said. "Maybe that's why Angel doesn't seem to age, and that's why we call her our 'kitten'."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," I said. "How old is she really?"

"She's older than you," dad replied. "And still going strong. I wonder how old Angel will grow to be." He and I looked at Angel just as she stepped into the room. She looked at us, and seemed to smirk while she winked at me. She padded away, and for a second, I thought I saw two very small wings made of light come out of her back.

-

"Do you believe in guardian angels?" I asked Malik before school the next day. He shrugged.

"Sure, why not? I mean, we must have some sort of guardian. We've been through a lot of shit, much more than the average high school senior," he said. "All three of us were kidnapped, I was raped, you went into a coma, Marik's dad died, your dad was attacked by Yugi's crazy dad, Kaiba obviously had a thing for you, and a whole lot of other shit. Not in that order, though. Anyway, what I'm saying is that it's a wonder we're still alive." I laughed.

"Yeah, you're right," I said. "We're probably insane to still act normal. Where's everyone today, anyway? They're usually here by now." Malik nodded.

"Yeah. Bakura's always a little late, but Shizuka, Mana, Marik, and all the others should be here," he said with a frown. "Rishid did say that he wanted to talk to Marik about something, though."

"Rishid? You mean your older brother?" I asked. Malik nodded.

"Who else? Anyway, he sometimes forces Marik to work in the garden, clean the house, things like that. He and Isis never really liked him that much. They're friendly with him, just…wary, I suppose," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you two are marrying, so they may want to keep watch on you," I said. He nodded. "Oh, and how's your album doing?" I asked.

"We're still recording," he replied. "It's taking a long time, since our manager is kinda picky with how it sounds and stuff," he explained. "He even stopped a recording just to suggest to add one beat of silence to part of a song."

"Sheesh. Well, he wants you to be successful, right?" I suggested. He shrugged.

"Sure, I suppose, but it's still annoying. Oh well; at least he doesn't yell at us."

Just then, we spotted something strange.

Mana and Shizuka were running towards us, screaming. We hurried over, and Mana crouched behind my wheelchair.

"What's wrong?" Malik asked while Shizuka clutched Mana's arm.

"There's this weird, mutated animal in the parking lot!" Mana whispered. "It was tall, like a regular human, and it had fangs and green eyes! Its ears were back and it looked like it was snarling! It had horns, and claws and wings, too! And its tail had an arrow-shaped spike on the end, too!"

"Are you sure this isn't just a joke?" Malik asked, though he sounded sort of convinced. She nodded.

"We're not kidding!" Shizuka promised. I, however, was not as superstitious.

"I'll go check it out," I said. I started to wheel forward, but Malik grabbed the handles on my wheelchair. "Hey!" I protested when he kicked the locks down.

"You're not going anywhere for now. This seriously could be dangerous. There _is_ a nuclear power plant a mile out of town, you know," Malik said in a serious tone. Mana and Shizuka nodded. "What color was it?" he asked, looking to them.

"It had black fur, but it looked soft," Mana said. "And a white belly, and this deep red color on its paws. It looked like…like blood."

"Let's go in," Malik said. "It probably can't open a door." He forcefully wheeled me inside, while Mana and Shizuka followed. We waited patiently.

"There! There it is!" Shizuka cried, pointing towards the bushes in the school garden. I looked, and gasped. There was a tall, dark, animal-like shape in there, slinking around.

"What the hell?" was all I could manage. Then, it turned towards us, and advanced. We were frozen stiff.

TBC

Mew: Have I crossed the line, Draiku?

Draiku: Depends. Is this going anywhere odd?

Mew: -sighs- Well, we'll just have to wait, then.

Draiku: You didn't answer the question.

Mew: It's a surprise. –grin-

Yoko: -stares at them- They're speaking in code, everyone. Decipher it while you still can, and while you're at it, leave a review! Please?


	30. Sylvester

Mew: I crossed that precious line that indicates where "too far" is.

Draiku: Hell yes you did.

Mew: -shrug- Oh well. Enjoy the chapter!

ALSO: That last chapter was just to get a cheap thrill out of your confused comments. I'M HORRIBLE I KNOW. Hopefully, that cheap thrill will come around again in this chapter. –wink-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns NOTHING IN RELATION TO YU-GI-OH BECAUSE SHE'S A STARVING ARTIST.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 30: Sylvester

We stared at the huge creature as it drew nearer. Yes, we were scared; it was so realistic! At first I'd thought it was a man in a costume, but no; it was a real creature! It stopped in front of the door, and stared at us. Finally, its ears went back, and it opened the door. We gasped, and backed up to the wall, Malik pulling me. The creature went straight to the office, and wrote something on a pad of paper. It handed it to the secretary, who laughed and nodded.

"What the hell?" Malik whispered. I blinked.

"I think it's just a guy in a costume," I said. "Probably a speaker or entertainer for an event today. Pep rally, maybe?" Malik nodded.

"I…really hope so," he mumbled. Mana and Shizuka nodded. We walked inside and hurried straight to our lockers, avoiding the person in the costume. When we saw the person coming towards us, we hurried in the opposite direction.

After we'd run away, we didn't see the person until lunch. At lunch, Malik got a text from Marik, saying that he was ill that day. Malik immediately replied with all that he was missing. Marik replied back, saying that he wished he was there to see this.

"He's waiting in line," Bakura said. "The guy in the costume."

"How's he going to eat with that big head on?" I wondered aloud.

"Maybe he'll take it off," Mana said.

"Yeah, most likely," Malik agreed. The man got a tray of food, and started walking towards us.

"Shit," Bakura said. "I think he's coming here. Just act polite." The man did in fact sit with us, in the corner seat, beside Malik and I.

"Um, hi," I said, smiling a little awkwardly. "Are you a speaker or something?" The man's "ears" went back. "Um, never mind," I quickly said. "Do you have a name, then?" The man just turned away from me and pointed at a button on the back of his head. "Oh." I unbuttoned it for him, then the one on the front, and the two on each side of his neck. He carefully removed the head of the costume, and we gasped.

"Thanks," the man said. "That damned thing is stuffier than an elevator full of fat men."

"Marik??!" Malik exclaimed. "Why are you wearing that??! I thought you were sick!" Marik set the costume head down and yawned.

"Someone's paying me to," he replied.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Malik asked.

"That was part of the deal. I couldn't tell you guys until lunch, and I had to wear it for the full day," Marik said. "Don't give me that look. I'm getting paid like a hundred dollars for this, and I need the cash. There are these awesome pants I want, and--."

"Whose is it?" Bakura asked.

"That's the weird part," Marik said, and took a bite out of the salad on his tray. "The guy who owns this thing knows you and you quite well." Marik pointed at Malik, then at me, with a clawed hand.

"Who is it?" I asked, now even more curious.

"Rishid, Malik's older brother," Marik said, drinking his milk while Malik spat his own across the table and effectively spraying Bakura.

"No way!" Malik exclaimed. "I've never seen that around the house before!" He didn't even notice Bakura's disgusted expression. I held in a chuckle.

"That's because he had it custom-ordered, apparently. It was just delivered yesterday," Marik explained. "He paid a lot of money for it, too. Like, almost six hundred dollars."

"Does Isis know?" Malik asked. Marik nodded.

"She's known for a long time now," he said.

"Then why didn't they tell me?"

"I guess because when you and I were watching that CSI episode about the furries, you got really freaked out," Marik said. "And just so you know, your brother doesn't do what they were doing." Malik stared straight ahead, still shocked. He finally pouted and glared at nothing.

"They never tell me _anything_, I swear," he muttered. "When I asked why my dick looked different than those kids' dicks in fourth grade, they said that Americans had mutant dicks. I believed that for three years, until Health in seventh grade, when they taught us about circumcision!"

"Mutant dicks…?" I repeated. "That's what you were talking about back then?" He nodded.

"Yeah, and you were one of the kids with a mutant dick," he said, chuckling a little. He seemed to be cheering up.

"So did pretty much every other guy here," Bakura said with a laugh.

"What does a circumcised penis look like, anyway? Or uncircumcised, at that?" Shizuka asked. We all stared at her for a second.

"You don't know?" Marik said. She and Mana stared at him blankly.

"Why _would_ we know?" Mana asked.

"Well, there's the internet, and those pop-ups I see sometimes," he said.

"I have a pop-up blocker," Shizuka said.

"Same here," Mana added.

"Check Wikipedia. I'm not showing you," Malik said, blushing a little. Just then, the bell rang.

"Well, I can't talk while I'm wearing the head, so if you need to tell me anything, do it now," Marik said.

"Are you coming home with me after school?" Malik asked. Marik nodded.

"Yeah. I have to return this, you know," he said.

"Alright. That's it, then," Malik said, nodding. Marik put the head back on, and again, he had me button it for him. He picked up his tray, stood up, waved, and left. We all laughed, and headed to our next classes.

-

Biology class was interesting that day. Funny, too, especially with the questions Bakura kept asking.

"Mr. Jacobsen?" he said. "How do snakes have sex?" The teacher seemed a bit confused. I almost cracked up laughing.

"Why do you ask?" he replied.

"Well, they don't have arms or legs or anything," he said. "See, I have a pet snake, and I was wondering how they reproduce."

"Well, they do it sideways," the teacher said. Bakura blinked.

"Are their penises crooked or something?" he asked. My head came in contact with the desk, and I shook with nearly silent laughter.

"No, no. They have a split penis, so they basically have two," Jacobsen explained. Bakura seemed surprised.

"That's why it looked so weird?" he said. "I thought that my snake just had a mutation or something."

"No, that's normal for snakes," Jacobsen said. I'd finally calmed down, and sat back up, when Bakura turned around and grinned at me.

"That's what snaky-style is, then," he said. I burst out laughing, and would've fallen out of my chair had I not been in the wheelchair.

After class, I wheeled down the hall with him.

"Speaking of snakes," I said, "how's Sullivan doing?"

"Sullivan died while you were in the coma," Bakura said, sounding a little depressed.

"Oh," I said. "Um, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. He was really, really old, and could barely eat. My mom got me another snake, and that one's named Sylvester," he said.

"That's good," I said. He nodded.

"Sylvester is really active and stuff," he said. "He's really tame, and he likes to curl around my hand and stuff."

"What type of snake is he?" I asked.

"Gardner," Bakura replied. "He's a sweet little thing."

"Sounds like it," I commented.

"Do you want to see him after school today?" he offered. I nodded.

"Sure!" I said, rather eagerly. "That'd be great." He grinned.

"Alright. Well, see you then," he said. I nodded, and we separated to get to class.

-

After school, Bakura took me to his place. His home wasn't exactly wheelchair accessible, so he actually offered to carry me inside.

"Really?" I asked, surprised, embarrassed, and excited all at once. He nodded.

"Well, you can't exactly jump up these stairs, can you?" he said with a chuckle. I blushed, fidgeting with a bit of plastic that was sticking up on one of the wheelchair's arms.

"Um, alright," I said. He lifted me out the chair with ease, and I wondered if I was really that light. I was still taller than him, it seemed. I blushed, holding onto his neck worriedly.

"Don't worry," he assured me, "I'm not going to drop you. And don't be nervous. We've already had sex once. This is just flirting compared to that." I blushed some more.

"Yeah, but…you know," I mumbled.

"I don't, actually," he said.

"I'm just not used to being carried," I said as he walked inside with me. He gently set me on the couch.

"Well, I can't blame you," he replied. "I'll get your wheelchair. My house is flat, except for the steps to the basement, so you should be fine." I nodded, and he brought the wheelchair inside.

"Thank you," I said, smiling gratefully. He just nodded.

"My room's in the basement, so I'll just bring Sylvester's tank," he said with a grin. "Mom's alright with having him in the living room. She says he's pretty." He chuckled and hurried to get the snake from his room. Keiko walked into the living room, and blinked when she saw me.

"Did Bakura bring you over?" she asked. I nodded.

"I hadn't realized he hadn't asked you," I replied, a little shyly. "Sorry if I'm a bother."

"No, no, it's alright. I guess that he's just getting used to having a parent who cares," she said softly, sitting in the couch across from me. "Anyway, it's been a while, Ryou." She smiled politely, and I smiled back.

"Yeah, it has," I said.

"You know, while you were in the coma a little while ago, you were all he talked about," she said. I blinked.

"Really?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yes. He was extremely worried about you, and I don't blame him," she said. "One of my good friends fell into a coma a year back. She hasn't woken up yet. And I was in a coma for around six months while I was in Japan. You were very lucky, Ryou." I blinked.

"You were in a coma?" I asked. She nodded. "Could you remember anything when you woke up?"

"No, sadly," she said. "You see, I felt a closer bond with my parents after the coma, and I'll never know why." I nodded.

"Same, here. My mom died in childbirth, so I never really met her. But after the coma, I felt like I actually knew her," I said.

"Who knows, maybe she decided to visit you," she said. We laughed, and Bakura appeared, carrying a large tank.

"Here he is," he announced, setting it onto the coffee table. I peered inside and saw a lovely snake slithering around.

"Wow," I mumbled. They always fascinated me. Sylvester was, at the moment, attempting to climb out. Bakura gently pushed him back in.

"He's really active," he explained, "and he always wants out."

"He must be a fun pet, then," I said with a laugh.

"He's a little annoying," Bakura said. "My bed's right next to his tank, so every other morning I wake up with a snake in my bed somewhere." I winced. If I woke up with a snake in my bed, I'd probably scream and die of fright. Then my dad would probably kill it, thinking that it was poisonous or something.

"Well, he doesn't bite, so it isn't that bad, right?" I replied. He nodded.

"Yeah. Man, I'd be scared if I owned a scorpion or something," he said. "I hate bugs."

"Speaking of bugs," his mother said, "we have a termite infestation in the house. We'll be 'bombing' it tomorrow." Bakura immediately looked up.

"_What_??!" he demanded. She laughed.

"I was kidding, honestly," she replied. He sighed with relief. "Anyway, I'm going to head to the store for about an hour. I trust that nothing will happen while I'm gone?" Bakura and I nodded, while I blushed a bit. She left, bidding us goodbye.

I looked at Bakura. Nothing much happened for a few minutes. It was a pretty awkward situation.

"Wanna play some games?" he finally said. I nodded.

"Sure," I said, still blushing a bit. He brought up his Play Station, and connected it to the television. He ended up showing me how to use the controller, but I was still thoroughly confused.

"You've never played on one of these before?" he asked, settling down next to me. I nodded.

"I'm more of a computer person," I replied.

"What games do you have?" he said.

"Not too many, mostly Sims 2 stuff," I said. I used to use the game to make a Bakura Sim and a me Sim. Of course, the entire point of that was to get them in bed, but that was embarrassing, so I didn't bring it up.

"Sims? That game's hard on anything besides the computer," Bakura said. "All my guys died the first day. Their stove caught on fire."

"That sucks," I said. I don't know about you, but I get attached to my Sims. Once they all died just because some stupid toy was blocking the path to get out of the house during the fire. It was an unfortunate, and slightly idiotic accident.

"It's alright. And if you're trying to use the Chidori on me, you're pressing the wrong buttons," he said.

"I don't know what the chart means," I admitted. He explained it to me, and my guy ended up dying anyway. Finally, we decided to do something else because I was no good at video games. We played Monopoly instead.

"Now don't tell me that you don't know what 'Collect 200 dollars' means," Bakura said, laughing a bit. I laughed as well, when he suddenly moved closer and kissed me passionately. I blushed, but kissed him back anyway.

"Um, Bakura?" I asked.

"Mm?"

"I hope you aren't…you know, wanting to get in bed or something," I muttered. He chuckled.

"We have plenty of time to do that later," he said. "I just wanted a kiss."

"Oh," I replied. "Sorry, I was just, you know, nervous." Truthfully, I wasn't used to being kissed like this all the time. It felt good, but I felt like I was in sixth grade whenever we kissed. Like I had no experience or something.

"You're nervous?" Bakura repeated. I nodded. "About what?"

"I guess that I'm…inexperienced," I finally admitted. He chuckled.

"Then let me do the work," he replied.

"That feels unfair to you," I muttered.

"It's not, but if you really want me to show you how to kiss, I can," he offered. My eyes widened.

"…Seriously?" He nodded. I grinned, blushing a little, but eager. "Alright!" Visiting Bakura's house was a lot more fun than I'd originally thought it would be.

TBC

Mew: You know, the Jekyll and Hyde musical was beautiful. –random-

Draiku: Stop distracting them from the point! Bakura's going to teach him how to kiss!

Mew: -hums to herself-

Draiku: -sighs-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! As always, please R&R!


	31. Lights

Mew: I honestly couldn't think up a decent name for this chapter. So you get "Lights".

Draiku: Joy.

Mew: Anyway, hope you enjoy this one. I'm actually pretty certain you will, because they're so obviously going to make out. –wink- You pervs.

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Trojan condoms or Yu-Gi-Oh.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 31: Lights

My heart was racing. Bakura was going to teach me how to kiss! Oh, happy day. I blushed a little as he explained it to me in great detail.

"Also," he said, nearly finished. I was barely listening, actually. Mostly, I was focusing on his lips. "Don't be afraid to kiss back, you know." He was blushing a little, too. It was adorable. "So, shall we start?" he asked, looking to me. I nodded eagerly, but shyly at the same time. He leaned closer to my face, and gently pressed his lips to mine.

I opened my mouth in response, letting his tongue slide in. My tongue came out, and gently stroked his. God, he tasted good. It felt amazing; I wanted to just melt into a pile of goo.

After a moment longer, he and I pulled away. He seemed quite satisfied indeed.

"Good," he said. "Great, actually." Subconsciously, I licked my lips. "Now you kiss me." I nodded and I obeyed, imitating what he'd done to me. It felt a little awkward, though. Typically, I was used to being submissive, I guess. Not only that, but I was still in the wheelchair. He was standing, and sort of bending over to kiss me. It didn't exactly work out too well. He pulled away.

"Here, let me try something," he said, and sat in my lap. I blushed, spreading my legs slightly so they wouldn't get crushed, and he kissed me again, and again, and again. My hands trailed all over his body, to every part I could reach. He felt so warm, and his temperature increased as I touched him.

His hands trailed up the back of my shirt, gliding across my spine, and coming around to touch my chest and stomach. This was getting intense.

As I slowly removed his shirt while he dragged his hands to my waist, I wondered why I wasn't stopping. My hormones had control of me now, and there was no stopping them.

-

Once we decided to go all the way, he carried me to his bedroom downstairs and gently laid me on the bed. Then, he crawled across the bed on all fours, getting closer. He kissed me, pinning my wrists above my head with his hand. He stopped a moment, and looked into my eyes.

"Do you want this?" he murmured. "Are you really sure if you do?" I nodded shyly.

"Yeah," I replied softly, "please. Now, Bakura." He smiled, kissing me tenderly and stroking my erect nipples slowly. He took everything very gently and slowly, only increasing the pace when I asked him to. It was wonderful. I ended up lying on my back while he held my hips in his hands, so not being able to walk didn't really matter.

When he took me, it hurt at first, for a long time. Then, he angled his thrusts and immediately, it felt so amazing. After a while, I forced myself up so I could hug his neck, and kiss him passionately. I came first, then he did. The two of us fell to the bed, exhausted, and drifted into sleep.

-

When I woke up, I wondered why I was naked at Bakura's house. Then I remembered, and freaked out.

"Bakura!" I hissed, shaking him and waking him. He grunted and turned over. "Bakura, Bakura! Your mom's going to be home pretty soon!" He was obviously still quite tired.

"So?" he muttered. "She'll live. We will, too, so it's good." He yawned and started hogging the blankets. I scooted closer, since I ran out of material to cover myself.

"Bakura, we can't be caught! Come on, please wake up! If your mom comes home and finds out that we had sex, right here, and betrayed her trust, what would she do??!" Now I was really freaking out. Finally, it hit him, and he practically leapt up.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "Oh, fuck. Um, well, showers! We smell…well, bad." I nodded, and he quickly took me to a shower, while he used the other one. When he finished, he helped me dress, and we dried our hair as quickly as possible.

"What about the sheets?" I asked, eyeing his bed.

"We don't have enough time," he replied. "What'd we do last time?"

"Um, covered the…spots?" I said. He nodded, and threw a blanket over the bed.

"Anything else?" he said. I pointed to two used condoms on the floor. He made a small, squeak-like noise, and disposed of them. "I think that we're set." I nodded.

"Let's hurry back upstairs," I said. He nodded, and carried me upstairs, where we saw his mom waiting in the kitchen for us.

"Oh. Hi!" I said quickly, and a little nervously. She gave us "the look".

"What were you two doing?" she asked.

"I was showing Ryou my CD collection," Bakura replied with a completely straight face. "He hadn't heard of AFI, so I thought that he'd like them." She nodded.

"Ah, I see," she said as Bakura set me in my wheelchair. "Why didn't you just bring the CDs upstairs? We have a radio up here." He paused.

"I guess I didn't think of that," he said.

"Alright. Oh, and Ryou, would you like to stay for dinner tonight?" Keiko asked. I smiled.

"I should probably ask my dad, first. Could I borrow your phone?" I replied. She nodded, and I called. He said yes, and I was quite happy.

"I'll get to work on that. Bakura, I know you have a bit of homework," Keiko said.

"Fine," Bakura said, rolling his eyes. We went to the living room, and settled down to do our homework. I kept shifting in my seat, trying to get comfortable. Bakura looked to me.

"Does it…um…hurt?" he asked in a low whisper. I nodded, blushing.

"Yeah, a little," I replied.

"Sorry," Bakura murmured.

"It's alright," I quickly said. "Anyway, what'd you get for problem five?"

"I got 124," he said. Of course, the only reason I'd asked that was to make sure that his mom thought we were talking about our homework.

After a while, his mom called us to the kitchen. There, we sat down and ate a meal of spaghetti and garlic bread. It was delicious, and I loved Italian. Admittedly, I was hoping for some ethnic Japanese food, but I'd take Italian over that any day.

We finished eating, and Bakura took me home. Honestly, I didn't know what to say to him. He talked, at least.

"So about a week into your coma, some freshman was talking shit about you," he started. "Dunno why. Anyway, Marik and I trashcanned him." He grinned. "It was great. The teacher on hall duty didn't even get after us. That was Seto, by the way." I chuckled a bit.

"Marik didn't mention trashcanning any freshmen on the tape for that day," I said. "It sounded like Malik stopped him."

"Well, you typically dislike the mistreatment of fresh meat, so that might be why," Bakura replied. We laughed. "Just bring it up to him. That was Garrett A., by the way. He'll shit himself. Anyway, your house is this one, right?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding. He got out and got my wheelchair from his trunk, then opened my door.

"You know," he said, "tonight was pretty amazing." He smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"Yeah, it was," I replied. He gently kissed me, closing his eyes. I kissed back, of course, and he helped me into my wheelchair. We went to my door, and dad answered it. He was wearing an untied robe, but thankfully, the cloth covered his waist.

"Oh! You two are back already?" he said, seeming quite shocked. We nodded. "Well. Um. Stay outside for a second, please." He closed the door, but we could still hear what was going on inside. "Mai, dear? They're home, I'm afraid."

"What? I thought that we'd have at least another hour!" Mai replied.

"I know, I know. You'd better get dressed in something," dad said. Bakura and I just stared straight ahead, shocked. I finally groaned and held my hands in my head, totally embarrassed.

"Sorry!" I squeaked.

"It's…um…alright," Bakura said. "Let's just pretend we didn't hear a thing." I nodded, looking up again. Dad re-answered the door.

"Sorry for the wait, boys. Come in," he said, and Bakura pushed me in. "Would you like to sit down a while, Bakura?" Bakura grinned nervously.

"Um, I'd better get home. I have to clean my room," he replied.

"Ah, alright. Well, nice seeing you! Bye!" dad said as he left.

"Yup! See you! Bye, Ryou!" Bakura said, practically racing to his car. Dad looked at me.

"You heard us, right?" he said. I nodded.

"Every word," I replied. He sighed.

"Sorry, Ryou, but you have to understand that it's human need and desire…" he said, probably getting read to go into "lecture-mode".

"Right, right, I know. Well, I'm going to get some water, alright?" I said. He nodded, and I wheeled into the kitchen, where Mai was pouring herself some decaf coffee. She was wearing a robe, thankfully.

"How was dinner at Bakura's?" she asked.

"Great," I replied. "And how were things here?" She chuckled.

"Sorry, Ryou, but your dad's a hottie," she said. I sighed.

"Bakura heard you guys, too. Sheesh…" I filled a cup of water, and headed for the living room. She just laughed.

-

After school the next day, Marik, Malik, Bakura, and I headed for play practice. I mostly watched, since the only thing I did was operate the spotlight and whatnot. Obviously, I didn't need to now.

Marik constantly seemed jealous of Bakura, considering that Malik's character was in love with Bakura's. Of course, this only made it seem more realistic. Our director was extremely excited about this. He looked to me, and the rest of the techies.

"I forgot to mention," he said to us, "that I sketched up the setting of the play. So we'll start building props today." We nodded, and he arranged us into groups. "Ryou, you're in charge of painting. We have an old table that we plan on using for the prince's plotting scene, so could you paint it up?" I nodded.

"Sure. Anything specific you want me to do?" I replied.

"Definitely make it gold, with lots of decorations," the director replied. "Anyway, you four will start to get props from the prop loft, and the rest of you can work on the flats." We spread out, and I quickly got to work on the table. Surprisingly, it was a very important part of the play. The princess' younger brother was actually killed on it, and the prince always sat at it and just plotted…things, in general. So, I worked hard on it—to make it both beautiful and modest at the same time.

Meanwhile, I watched Bakura on stage with Malik. A slight bit of jealousy shot through my body whenever they kissed in a scene. Especially since Bakura and I had…well, you know. But can you blame me?

While I painted, I thought back to yesterday evening. Whenever I thought of sex before last night, I imagined that it would be a little rough my first time—probably since I was inexperienced. However, with Bakura's gentle hands gliding over my skin, I felt like I was the most graceful person in the world. Even without the use of my legs. He really had a way with me, I suppose. Dad sometimes said the same thing about Mai.

For a while all I did was sit and stare. Marik wasn't in the scene at the moment, so he came over.

"Hey, how's my sacrificial platform coming along?" he asked with a joking grin. I blinked.

"Oh—what?" I replied. He chuckled and pointed at the table.

"The table. Can I see it?" he said. I nodded, rolling backwards slightly. He inspected it. "Sheesh, you're good at painting. I love how you have little cherubs on the surface of it."

"Thanks," I said, feeling modest.

"And, I was meaning to ask, how are things going with you and Bakura?" he said, taking a seat next to me. I gave a long sigh and smiled, making him raise an eyebrow at me.

"Wonderful," I murmured, closing my eyes and remembering the night before. Marik gave me a sly smirk.

"You did it with him, didn't you?" he asked in a low whisper. I gasped, blushing. How'd he know??! "Oh come on," Marik said, "it was obvious. You and Bakura just kept staring at each other during lunch. It was pretty blatant, you know." I blushed some more.

"Was it really?" I asked shyly. He nodded.

"Don't worry about it, though. Anyway, how was it?" he said. I smiled again, letting my emotions take over.

"Absolutely wonderful," was all I could say. He chuckled and patted my shoulder.

"Good to hear. Also, it's good that you aren't walking. Otherwise _everyone_ would notice," he said. I blushed again. But hey, he was right. I still felt a little uncomfortable "down there".

Marik was called back to the stage, and Bakura came and sat by me.

"You know how to work the lights, right?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, most of them," I replied. "Why? Aren't I just working the spotlight?"

"You used to, but the guy who was supposed to work it dropped out of the job," Bakura replied. "So instead, Yugi's working the main spotlight, and Jou's working the second one. You get the rest of the lights, though." I nodded.

"Alright," I said.

"Anyway, my point is, you said you knew 'most of them.' Want me to teach you the rest?" he asked with a smile. I nodded, and we headed for the light booth. There, he taught me the basics, but occasionally we "took a break" and snuck in a kiss or two.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Marik called from the stage. We stopped kissing, and looked up. "Bakura, get up here. You went over scene three, act one, right?"

"Yeah, just a second," Bakura called back. "These last seven switches control the color of the lights. They're marked—R is red, Y is yellow, and so on. The first P is purple, and the last P is pink. Alright?" I nodded.

"Okay, thanks," I said, smiling. He hurried back to the stage, and quickly got to work.

We got far in the first act that day, even though I didn't do much else besides finish painting the table after I got used to the lights. However, most of all I could think about was Bakura, and our night together.

TBC

Mew: Sorry it's a bit shorter than usual, but hey, at least you got a sexy scene!

Draiku: I hardly think that makes up for it.

Mew: …shutup.

Draiku: -snickers-

Yoko: Bow-chicka-wow—I mean, thanks for reading, everyone! Please take some time to R&R if you like Ryou and Bakura porn.


	32. Tickled Pink

Mew: I chose two random words to come up with the name of this chapter, since I really didn't know what to call it.

Draiku: That seems about right.

Mew: Yup. I kinda suck at naming chapters, so I might just do this from now on.

Draiku: Sorry to say, but that's lame.

Mew: …Don't you ever shut up? ANYWAY. Thanks so much, everyone, for 600 reviews! I honestly never thought this would ever happen! It really means a lot to me, everyone!

IMPORTANT: Also, I want to apologize for taking so long with this chapter to come out. Everyone who's read Badass Boyfriend for a while knows that it was updated more or less weekly, but it will now be updated _biweekly_. I'm struggling a bit with getting the chapters out weekly, which is why this one was so late. This'll give me more time to write chapters a little longer and better, though.

And I've just realized that I would fail as a cartoonist thanks to this story. –sulk- I'm too angsty despite the "comedy" genre.

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku _should_ be getting paid because she's basically advertising Yu-Gi-Oh, but she doesn't because she doesn't own the thing in the first place. Damn.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 32: Tickled Pink

Dad and Mai kept staring at me after I returned from theater practice. I looked to them, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

"You seem quite…dreamy, Ryou," dad said. Mai nodded.

"Yes, you do. Almost like you just had the happiest moment in your life or something," she said. I smiled a little.

"I guess I'm just thinking," I replied.

"About what?" Mai asked.

"About when I should stop putting off my English assignment. Well, I'll get to work on that now," I said, getting into my wheelchair from the easy chair. I wheeled into the guest room to get started. While I worked on my assignment, I eavesdropped on their conversation. The guest room was close to the living room, so I could hear them clearly.

"He's seemed happier since last night," dad commented.

"Yes, he has. He seems euphoric when you look in his eyes," Mai replied. I blinked. Did I really seem that happy? I did feel extremely glad about last night, but I'd been trying to hide it, in case they suspected something.

"Do you think something happened between him and Bakura?" dad asked. I blushed, wondering if he'd figured it out.

"Well, what could possibly make him that happy?" Mai replied. "Unless Bakura proposed to him or something. I mean, he _did_ give Ryou a 'promise ring'." They both paused.

"But he isn't wearing an engagement ring," dad said.

"That doesn't mean he can't hide it," Mai said.

"True," dad murmured. Again, they were silent. I wondered what they were thinking. Finally, dad came to my room.

"Did Bakura propose to you?" he asked.

"No," I replied. "Why?"

"No reason," dad said, leaving. He sat down again.

"Maybe they had sex," Mai speculated in a whisper. Dad was silent for a long time.

"Wouldn't Ryou be walking weirdly?" he whispered back.

"He isn't walking. Remember?" Again, dad came to my room.

"Did you and Bakura have sex?" he asked.

"No!" I quickly replied, pretending to be embarrassed and appalled that he was asking this. "Why??!"

"Well, you were very happy yesterday when you returned, so--," he started.

"So you thought I had sex with him?" I said. He nodded.

"It seemed logical," he replied. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"I'm waiting for a while longer," I said.

"Oh, good," he said, smiling. "Sorry to bother you, then." I nodded, and he left quickly to tell Mai that Bakura and I supposedly hadn't had sex.

I snickered a little. Being in theater was quite handy.

-

Therapy the next day was excruciating. My therapist was bent on getting me in crutches, at the very least. It was then that I figured out why "therapist" was "the" and "rapist" mashed together.

"Ryou, up! Come on, your legs should be stronger," she said. I wobbled and tried to straighten myself before I'd fall. I finally was able to stand up straight, though I was a bit unbalanced. She praised me, and forced me to start walking forward. I obeyed, holding onto a rail for support, and was soon walking quite slowly.

"Excellent!" she said. I grinned, trying to speed up, but I instantly fell flat on my face when I did. She had me get up on my own, and keep walking.

"Are you sure I should try jogging?" I asked after a bit, when she mentioned the idea to me. She nodded.

"I want to see how far you've come," she replied. I nodded, and tried to jog. I could, and soon I was running free.

I was out of the wheelchair!

I felt quite proud of myself, and would now only have to come once a week for checkups and other exercises I'd need. I called up dad and Mai to come pick me up, and they were happy for me when they arrived.

"We'll help you move your stuff back into your room, alright?" Mai said. I grinned at her.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. I still got tired when I stood, and it hurt just a little, so this would help a lot.

The three of us returned home and began moving my things into my room. I sat on my bed once we were finished, and looked around for a minute. I smiled a bit, glad to be back.

-

At school the next day, everyone seemed glad that I was back on my feet. They suggested celebrating somehow, and made plans while I sat by and watched.

"We could go bowling," Malik suggested.

"What about pizza?" Marik added.

"A movie might be fun," Bakura said.

"It depends on the genre," Mana said. "Comedy, or tragedy?"

"Comedy, of course," Bakura replied.

"There aren't any good comedies playing at the theater right now," Shizuka put in.

"What about mini-golf, then?" Bakura suggested.

"That requires a lot of standing. Ryou just started walking again, so he'd get tired easily," Marik said.

"We could go to that huge zoo," Malik said.

"They're under renovation, so we'd only get to see a couple exhibits," Mana said.

"What about a casino?" Marik asked.

"I don't think we can gamble yet," Bakura said.

"Fake IDs, Debbie Downer," Marik replied. Bakura pouted a bit.

"That's still illegal. We'd end up being arrested and fined," he said.

"How about we go onto the busiest road in town, and start a road rage? I think that'd be fun," Marik said. "We could leave at the last minute and cover our license plates."

"No!" everyone but Marik said.

"Fine," Marik said, rolling his eyes.

"How about we ask Ryou what he wants to do?" Shizuka suggested. _Finally._ Everyone looked to me expectantly.

"Well," I said, "how about bowling, pizza, and a movie? Or we could combine some other ideas. It's not like we have to do just one thing."

"That's a good idea," Malik said. "We should invite…hm. Who do you want to invite, Ryou?" I paused.

"Jou, Yugi, and how about Mr. Kaiba?" I said.

"Alright, sounds good," Bakura said, grinning.

"We should go shopping, too," Mana said. We agreed, and set the date for this Saturday. To say the least, I was looking forward to it.

-

Saturday came, of course, and we met at the local pizza parlor. Seto probably felt awkward in a crowd of high school kids, even though most of us were seniors. Bakura and Malik fought over who got to pay, which was slightly amusing.

"I'm his best friend, so I'll pay," Malik said, glaring and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm his boyfriend, so I'll pay," Bakura replied, glaring as well.

"Not unless I get to the counter first!" Malik crowed, and made a dash. Bakura grabbed him and held him back. They then started doing what could best be described as sumo wrestling. While they did that, I head to the counter, and paid for our food.

When I informed them about this, they felt horrible. I was okay with it, though.

"Next time I'm just going to pay," Seto grumbled, and muttered something about high school students.

As soon as the pizza came, we practically leapt for it. We devoured three more large pizzas after that, and Seto seemed quite surprised.

"We're growing boys—and ladies—so that's why we at a lot," Marik explained.

"I should've known," Seto said as we headed for the bowling alley in Shizuka's van. Bakura and I stretched out in the back, and I lied on top of him. He was really comfortable, after all.

We arrived at the bowling alley, and reserved a lane. Bakura was great at it, but Marik was equally good.

"Strike, again," Malik said with a grin as Marik walked back to our group from bowling. "Bakura's up." Bakura, who looked very competitive by now, shot a glare at Marik and grabbed a bowling ball. He rolled it down the lane, and got a strike as well.

"Strike!" he announced, grinning. Marik rolled his eyes.

"How redundant," he commented. I just had to chuckle a little. Eventually, they were down to the last roll, and, again, both got a strike.

So, we decided to have a tiebreaker.

"Wish me luck," Bakura said with a grin, kissing me gently. Marik did the same to Malik, licked his lips, and the two started. I, of course, was rooting for Bakura. Malik and I even placed bets.

It started off good—Marik and Bakura were getting strikes left and right. Eventually, though, they got tired, and started getting spares or nines. In the end, Marik won, and I lost five dollars.

"Sorry about that," Bakura said as we got into the van again. "I hadn't realized that you and Malik were betting on us."

"It's just five dollars, alright? No big deal," I said with a laugh, while Marik and Malik gloated about winning. We went to the movie theater, and chose a movie to watch. Admittedly, there weren't too many good ones, so we just chose a sappy romance. It was borderline pornography, but what can you do? At least the ending was good.

Afterwards, we finally went shopping. We would spread out in the mall, and meet in the family lounge at four. Marik, Malik, Bakura and I went to a store called "Tickled Pink". Mai's birthday was coming up, so I decided to get something for her.

Like the name of the store hinted, the entire store was _pink_. Marik, Malik, and Bakura all seemed very uncomfortable, since we stood out like sore thumbs. We all seemed very dark to be shopping in a store like this.

"I feel really out-of-place," Marik muttered, while a couple of girls stared at us.

"What do you mean? You're gay, you should feel totally natural here," Malik said with a laugh, though he seemed pretty out-of-place as well.

"Well, I'm not the flamboyant type," Marik replied with a slight pout. "Ryou, could you hurry? Um, please?" I chuckled.

"Sure, I'll be quick," I said, and looked at some of the jewelry. Finally, I picked a necklace out, and paid for it. The cashier gave us "the look".

"Shopping for your girlfriend?" she asked.

"No, my mom," I replied. "Her birthday's coming up. Besides, I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh, that's nice of you to shop for her," she said with a pleasant smile. "You're a handsome young man, though. Haven't you been asked out before?"

"Yes, but I rejected them. I have a boyfriend, anyway," I said.

"Oh," she said. "Sorry." She laughed awkwardly, handing me the sack with the necklace in it. We left, and Bakura made a show of kissing me and putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Well, we're going to head to Journeys. I need some new shoes," Marik said. "See you in a bit." We waved, and Bakura and I decided to get some food before we met up and ate somewhere else.

After that, we met up with everyone in the family lounge. Marik and Malik weren't there, though.

"They're probably just finishing up," Yugi suggested. We waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. Nearly an hour passed before we decided to call them.

"Marik? Where are you and Malik?" I asked, calling them.

"I got kicked out for fighting," Marik replied with a sigh. "Please don't chew me out. Malik's done that already."

"Oh. What for?" I said.

"Some loser was yelling at us about something. I got sick of it, so I punched him. He punched back, and we pretty much fought in the middle of Journeys," he explained.

"Alright. Where are you now?"

"We're just waiting outside. Malik's glaring at me, so can you come out here and stop him?" Marik said.

"Alright, we'll be there soon." I hung up, and told the rest of the gang what happened. We left the mall, and found them sitting at one of the benches outside. Marik was sporting a black eye.

"We're kind of banned for the rest of the week," Malik said, biting his lip. "We're really, really sorry."

"It's alright," Seto said. "We were going to leave anyway, so don't worry about it." We headed for the van, and my cell rang. I picked it up.

"Hello?" I said.

"Ryou, it's your father. He's been in an accident," Mai's voice said. I gasped.

TBC

Mew: I'm horrible for leaving you at that, am I?

Draiku: YES YOU ARE. –glare-

Yoko: Eep. Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone! To keep Mew and Draiku from fighting and potentially killing each other, please be kind and leave a review. That'd be just great! –grin-


	33. Forgetfulness

Mew: This chapter is a little shorter, since I've introduced a new arc that could've easily been finished if it'd been longer. Well, I wanted the arc to be longer, so for that you get a cheap, generic 6-page chapter rather than 8-page.

Draiku: Since Mew's already forgotten to mention it, sorry for making you wait so long with that cliffhanger. –evil grin- I'm not sorry, of course. Just apologizing for her.

Mew: -sob- Nyahhhh. I don't really have anything else to say here…so…

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Toyota. CRAP I MEAN YU-GI-OH. But she doesn't own Toyota either. So, no, you can't have a free car. SORRY. –is sleep deprived-

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 33: Forgetfulness

I gasped, holding the cell in my hand carefully, trying not to drop it. It was hard, considering that my hand was shaking.

"He…he was in an accident?" I whispered.

"Yes," Mai replied on the other end. "Jon was coming back from shopping for a gift for you, since you can walk again. He was hit by a truck, and his car went flying. It landed upside down across the road." My heart almost stopped.

"Is he alright?" I murmured. "Is he alive??"

"Yes, he's alive," Mai said, sounding relieved. "But he's in critical condition in the hospital. The doctors are working to stabilize him." I nodded.

"Alright, alright," I muttered. "Should I come to the hospital?" By now everyone was watching, and Bakura had put an arm around my shoulders.

"I'd appreciate it if you would, Ryou," Mai murmured.

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit," I said. I informed Seto of the news, and he drove us to the hospital. There, we saw Mai crying in the waiting room. I rushed over to her and sat down next to her, putting my arm over her shoulders to comfort her. I couldn't hold back my tears, though, so Bakura gently placed his hand on mine. I was thankful for him, especially when a nurse approached us.

"We've stabilized him," she announced. "He's sleeping right now, but he'll be awake in an hour or so, most likely. His left leg was broken, and part of his hip has a fracture. After his leg heals, he'll most likely have a permanent limp."

"I'm just glad he's alive," Mai murmured. I nodded in agreement, thinking about Marik's dad. It truly was a scary thought that people could die so easily, and it was remarkable that people who'd been in the same situation survived.

"How bad will the limp be?" I asked. "Will he be able to get up the stairs and stuff?"

"Well, his limp certainly won't be so bad that it would prevent him from walking," she replied. "He may experience lots of pain for the first few days, so we'll give him pain medication for that. After he's walked around on his leg for a while, he'll get stronger, and it won't affect him as much."

"Anything else we should know?" Mai asked.

"He suffered a nasty blow to the head; we've treated it and bandaged it, but it might have some effects on his mental health," the nurse replied. I bit my lip, my stomach flipping over in my torso. Why did I feel so worried?

Finally, we were allowed to visit him. He was sitting up in the hospital bed, rubbing the bandage over his wound. One leg was held up by a cloth, and he had a few more bandages covering minor injuries.

"Dad!" I said, hurrying to his side. Mai followed, and the doctor shooed my friends away. Apparently, the room would be to crowded if they came in.

"Jon, are you alright?" Mai asked, holding his hand. He pulled it away, looking at us through confused eyes. Mai looked hurt by his action.

"Are you okay, dad?" I asked, worry lacing my voice. He stared at me, then Mai.

"Who are you?" he asked in a slightly hushed voice. He sounded quite worried. Besides him being worried, we were, as well.

"Jonathan, it's me, Mai—your future wife. And this is Ryou, your son," Mai said. Dad shook his head.

"I haven't met you two at all," he replied. I pressed the button on his bed to call the nurse, not knowing what else to do. A nurse came in, and asked what was wrong.

"He can't remember us at all!" I replied. The nurse frowned.

"Let me get his doctor," she said. "You two please return to the waiting room." We left, feeling horrible, and explained what happened to everyone. They gasped.

"You're serious?" Marik asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. He just can't remember us at all," I whispered.

"It's most likely just temporary," Malik replied. I nodded, hoping he was right. After another long while, the doctor came out to give us the news.

"He has amnesia," he announced. "We can't help him medically, but all of you could help him through talk and pictures. After that, his memory will come back on its own."

"How long will it take for that to happen?" Mai asked.

"It depends. He still remembers his parents, high school, and things like that, but everything after you were born was forgotten," the doctor explained, motioning to me. I frowned and sighed. "Don't worry, he didn't choose to forget you or anything."

"I know," I murmured. It was still depressing, though. My own father didn't even know I was his son. Bakura gently stroked my shoulder, comforting me as best he could. You don't know how grateful I was for him that moment. If he hadn't been there, I would've burst out crying.

"Do you two know if he has any journals he keeps, or a photo album?" the doctor asked us.

"I'm not sure if he has journals, but we have a lot of albums," Mai replied.

"Excellent. He'll be recovering from the accident for a while, so when you visit him next time, it would be great to bring those. Have him look through them, and explain the events in great detail. He may start to remember them again," the doctor said. "After he recovers, take him home and explain important events that happened in each room—a birthday party, or other celebration or event, for instance." I felt my stomach start to ache. This would probably mean that I'd have to come out to him all over again, and who knows what he'd do?

"I understand," Mai said. "Could we tell him we'll be back tomorrow?" The doctor nodded, and Mai and I returned to dad's room.

"What do you want now? Why isn't my wife here?" he asked us.

"We'll explain everything to you tomorrow," Mai replied, sitting next to him on the bed. "We'll see you then."

"Bye, dad," I murmured, and we left. We met up with my friends again, and all of us headed home.

"Ryou," Bakura said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, and noticed everyone standing behind him and looking at me. "If you need anything, anything at all, we're right here for you. Just call us. No matter what time it is, we'll help you the best we can." I smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, all of you, so much," I said. We all split up and returned to our homes.

That night, I dreamt of not being able to remember my life before I was five, and because of that, dad never regained his memory. For a long time in my dream, I just sat there and cried. A woman dressed in everyday clothing sat next to me, and put her arm around my shoulders. I recognized her as my mother.

"Mom?" I said softly. She smiled at me.

"Need some help?" she said. I nodded.

"Could you tell me what happened to dad and I when I was born, up until I was about five?" I asked. "I know you were dead, but you've been watching me, right?"

"Of course I can tell you!" she said with a laugh. Magically, a photo album with moving pictures appeared in her hands. It reminded me of Harry Potter—then again, I'd just watched a few of the movies, so that must've been why it was in my dream.

She then began to explain every moment of my life to me, telling me about how dad mourned but managed to take care of me at the same time. She told me about how he prayed that I'd live a long, healthy life, even without a mother to help. She even said that on my first birthday, he couldn't afford any presents, because of the cost of her funeral, so he made a badly-sewn blanket for me instead. I still had that blanket; it was folded up on a shelf in my closet.

"Anything else?" she asked, closing the album. I shook my head and hugged her.

"Thank you," I replied. "This'll really, really help me tomorrow."

"No problem. Time for you to wake up now, by the way," she said with a chuckle. I kissed her cheek, and woke up. Mai and I gathered up all the albums we could, photographs, home videos, and items—like the blanket in my closet. We headed for the hospital after that, and hurried to his room.

"Hi, Jon," Mai greeted with a sad smile. He was still wary about us. "We have to talk to you."

"Okay," he said. "Are those photo albums?"

"Yeah," I said, setting them down on a table.

"Let me explain what happened to you," Mai said. She told him about the accident, and about his amnesia. He believed her, surprisingly—I thought that he'd deny it. "Anyway, we're here to help you remember your life. What do you remember so far?"

"Well," he said, frowning and thinking, "I remember calling my wife and seeing if she was positive for pregnancy a few nights ago. She said yes, so when I got home, we celebrated."

"Alright. Anything after that?" Mai asked. He narrowed his eyes, and finally shook his head.

"No," he said.

"Okay then. We'll start with this photo album," she said, taking it out from under a couple others. "This is your wife's entire pregnancy, until your son was born. And this is Ryou, your son," Mai said, gesturing towards me. "Of course, he's grown up. He's eighteen now."

"Okay," dad said, smiling a little at me. I smiled a bit back and Mai opened the album.

"Here," she said, pointing. She started explaining what was going on in the picture, and what happened to him. I wondered how she knew—then again, dad probably told her while I was out of the house or something.

"Here's the video of Ryou being born," Mai said. I turned away from the television, not wanting to watch. My mother died in this video, after all. Dad watched closely, and suddenly gasped. I peered at the screen.

Dad was holding the video camera, just as the doctors handed me to my mom. She smiled at me, whispered something, and died. The me in the video cried loudly, and the doctors wrapped a blanket around me and handed me to dad. He sobbed, holding mom's hand, and cradling me at the same time. The doctors took me away, and the video stopped. I was actually surprised that we'd kept that film.

"So," dad mumbled, "she's dead?" Mai and I nodded. He frowned, gazing at the sheets on the bed. "I remember that day now. I feel sad, but…I've known for so long that I've gotten over it. If that makes any sense."

"I understand," Mai said, patting his shoulder.

"But, who are you? I don't recall meeting you before," dad asked, looking at her. He frowned. "I'm sorry. You must be close to me if you know all this, and if my son's with you."

"It isn't your fault that you don't remember," Mai said. "You never wanted amnesia." He nodded.

"Thank you for understanding," he mumbled. He smiled a little. "Are we in love, by any chance?" A large smile spread across Mai's face.

"Yes," she said. "Actually, you're engaged to me. How'd you know?"

"You definitely seem like a person I'd fall in love with," he said with a shy chuckle. He suddenly frowned. "I feel like the worst man on earth. What's your name?"

"Mai Kujaku. I'm the school nurse at Ryou's school," she said. "And I forgive you, Jon."

"Thank you," dad said. I just had to chuckle a little bit at them.

"Anyway, let's keep going. Here's your and Ryou's first year together," Mai said, opening another album. Now I told him about what happened. I brought up the blanket, and handed it to him. He touched it gently, smiling slightly.

"I remember making this," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't afford any real presents," he added, looking to me.

"It's alright," I said, "really. This was a much better present than anything else."

For two more weeks we came to the hospital, telling him about every photo in the album in great detail. We brought what we could; tapes, heirlooms, computer files and a laptop. I was glad that he remembered his job fairly quickly. He wouldn't have too much trouble getting back to work, then.

Finally, he was well enough to return home. We gave him the basic tour, making sure to point out where everything was.

"Here's my room," I said, pointing inside. He peered in.

"I feel like something bad happened in here," he muttered, frowning slightly. I frowned a little as well.

"Well, we'll explain everything to you later," I said.

It got late sooner than I'd expected, and, all of us tired, we went to bed. Mai and dad slept in different beds that night.

TBC

Mew: Gah, sorry for stopping it so soon. I had to make this bit last a little longer somehow, and I was fresh out of energy for this chapter. I'm really sorry, honestly!

Draiku: Perhaps you shoulda had a V8.

Mew: Ew. –despises the stuff-

Draiku: -whack-

Yoko: Er. Well. Thanks for reading everyone, and leave a review! Maybe Mew will update faster if you do. –wink-


	34. A Trip Down Memory Lane

Mew: Not much to say here, so I won't distract you guys any longer. –grin- Read on!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns nothing at all. Not even her soul, because she sold it on eBay.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 34: A Trip Down Memory Lane

For the next few days, dad and I went over basic events in each room. I wanted him to remember everything, in order, ever since the time he returned from Egypt early.

"Here's where you met Marik and Malik, my two friends from school," I said. I could tell he wasn't listening that well, though, since he seemed to be a little disturbed by the pants I was wearing. They were black, with blue straps, and four chains that connected to a single handcuff in the middle of my legs. Marik and Malik bought them for me during winter break, probably as a Christmas present. I actually loved them—they were quite comfortable, though the straps got caught on things very easily.

"Dad?" I said. He looked up.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "I just…don't recall you wearing such things when you visited me at the hospital." He frowned. I knew that he and the gothic style weren't the best of friends, but now he'd probably think I was a Satanist all over again.

"Yeah, I only own a couple of pants like this," I replied. "Most of the time I just wear jeans, though." Over time, I'd grown to dislike the feeling of jeans, though. They were a little confining. That statement is rather ironic, now that I think about it, because I wear chains on my damned pants sometimes.

"You aren't a Satanist, are you?" he asked warily. I mentally rolled my eyes.

"No, of course not," I said. "I used to be an atheist, but I've gained a little faith, I guess." Ever since the coma, I'd wanted to believe that there was _someone_ watching over me. I guess dad had a pretty good influence on me in some ways. "I suppose I'm sort of semi-agnostic," I added. He nodded.

"Well, at least you have some faith. In God, I hope?" he said. I nodded, though I still wished that he'd stop being so strict about religion.

"Anyway, here's where you first met Marik and Malik. Malik's my best friend from school, but he didn't visit that much unless he had to," I said.

"But if he was your best friend, why?" he asked.

"Well, you're really strict about people being Christian and only Christian, right?" I asked. He nodded. "And you stick by the Bible, too. See, Malik's Islamic, and since you're so strict, I didn't want him to be offended or embarrassed or something."

"I wouldn't bring it up with him!" he said quickly.

"I know, but you _would_ bring the Bible up because he's gay," I said. He paused, staring at me.

"Is he your…?" he said, his voice shaking a little. I shook my head.

"No, just my friend. He already has a boyfriend anyway," I said. He nodded.

"Good," he muttered. "Good." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Anyway, you didn't really like them at all, but you started to not mind them," I said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked, clearly confused.

"I'll get to that in a few seconds," I said with a slight smile. He nodded, though he seemed disturbed by the fact that he'd actually _accepted_ Marik and Malik. I continued with the grand tour of the house, until we came to my room. I picked up my journal, bothering Angel, who'd been sleeping next to it.

"This is my journal," I said, holding it out for him to see. I handed it to him and he looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"You want me to look through it?" he asked. I nodded.

"It might spark some memories," I replied. He flipped to a page in the middle, and frowned.

"You wrote it in code?" he said. I nodded again.

"You deciphered it, though," I said, recalling that fateful day. I swallowed, ready to face the worst. "You figured out everything I was writing in there."

"What were you writing?" he asked.

"I wrote about school, my friends, crushes I had," I said. "The truth is…dad, I'm gay."

Beeeeeeoooooooo—psssssh.

The bomb had been dropped, if you don't know what "beeeeeeoooooooo—psssssh" means.

He stumbled a moment, shocked.

"Y-you're kidding," he said. "I wouldn't raise a son…I wouldn't…I won't…" I winced a little. His reaction this time around seemed worse. I wondered just how bad his amnesia was. "Tell me that you're lying, Ryou! Now!" he yelled.

"I'm not," I replied. My voice shocked me—I sounded strong. Not like last time, when I first came out to him. I guess that I knew that he'd eventually accept me for who I was, and that's why. But there was that nagging doubt in my mind…what if he didn't?

"What do you mean, you're not??" he demanded. "You're not gay? You're not lying?? Please be the first one!"

"It's the second one. Dad, please--," I said, but he cut me off with a glare.

"Don't call me that," he whispered. I blinked, now shocked with his actions. "You're no son to me. Get out."

_Here we go,_ I thought. _It's happening all over again._ I left the room without another word, and saw Mai pull up into the driveway just in time.

"What's going on?" she asked, probably sensing the tension around the house.

"Dad kicked me out," I replied. "I came out to him again, and, well…" She frowned.

"You have to let him remember everything first," she said, pulling me into a comforting hug.

"I…I think that it will help him remember everything, though," I replied. "I mean…it was a huge event for both of us." She nodded.

"You have a point there," she said. "I'll talk to him and see if he'll let you back in." I nodded, and sat on the stairs to our door. Dad sounded enraged from inside. I sighed, feeling guilty for what Mai was going through right now.

She came back outside a few minutes later.

"I think it's going to be a couple of days," she said. I nodded and sighed again. "Do you have a place to stay? I would offer you my old apartment, but I don't live there anymore, plus it's in a bad neighborhood…"

"I don't really want to burden Marik or Malik again," I said. "Maybe Bakura would let me stay at his place. But if he can't, then I'll just stay at a hotel or something."

"Alright, and I'll pay for your room. Call Bakura and see what he says," she said. I nodded and dialed his number while she went inside to get my clothing and stuff.

"Hello?" Bakura said.

"Hi, Bakura. It's Ryou," I said, forcing myself to smile for some reason.

"You sound depressed," he commented.

"How could you tell?" I asked.

"Instinct, I guess," he said. "What's wrong?" I explained the situation to him in great detail.

"So I thought that he'd remember everything when I said it, or right after I left the room, but he didn't. So I'm kinda out of a home right now, and…I hate to ask this, but…could I stay at your place?" I said.

"Of course!" Bakura quickly replied. "You're always welcome here!"

"What about your mom's opinion?" I asked.

"Who cares? You need a place to stay, Ryou!" he said. "I can pick you up if you want."

"It's alright," I said. "Mai's giving me a ride."

"Alright. I'm really sorry to hear about your dad, Ryou," he said.

"He just needs some time to remember is all," I replied.

"I hope he remember soon—um, not that I want you to leave soon or anything, just that I want you to be with your family again! Soon," he said, a little awkwardly. I laughed.

"Yeah, I agree," I said. "Mai and I will be over in a bit."

"Alright, see you," Bakura said, and we hung up. I got into the car with Mai, putting a couple of suitcases in the back seat.

"So Bakura's house, then?" Mai asked. I nodded.

"Yup," I replied. She started the car, and we drove there. Bakura was waiting outside for me when we arrived. He hurried over, and helped us carry in my suitcases.

"You can stay in my room if you'd like," Bakura offered.

"Thanks," I said. "I really appreciate this, you know." He smiled, carrying in the suitcases.

"Well, that's it," Mai said. "I'll call you each day and tell you what he's remembered, and so on. You be sure to tell me other things that he needs to remember too, alright?" she said. I nodded. "Okay then. Well, bye, you two. Have fun, and I'll talk to you later today, Ryou."

"Bye," I said.

"Bye, Mrs.…um, Mrs. Bakura?" Bakura said. Mai laughed.

"I'm not married yet, Bakura," she said.

"Oh, okay. Sorry, um, Ms. Kujaku," Bakura said, correcting himself. Mai laughed again and waved, then drove away.

"Well, come in," Bakura said to me. I chuckled and followed him inside. There, I saw Bakura's mom watching TV in the living room.

"Hi, Ryou," she said. "Sorry to hear about your dad, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like." She smiled.

"Thank you, Ms. Touzoku," I replied. "I hope I don't burden you too much."

"You let my kid stay at your place for a long time, Ryou. You could never burden us," she said with a chuckle.

"Still…" I said, a little embarrassed.

"Anyway, make yourself at home, kid!" she said, grinning. Bakura and I sat down on the couch together, smiling. "So, how's life been? Well, besides your dad kicking you out."

"I guess better than usual," I said with a laugh.

"Good to hear," she said.

I stayed at Bakura's house for a week or so until I felt a little concerned. Mai had called and kept me updated about his behavior each day. Last time when she called, she'd said that he wasn't changing at all. He still hated me, and all gays and lesbians out there.

"I don't know what to do," Mai said. "No matter what I say, I can't convince him to let you come back. He's even talking about having a garage sale and discussing selling your things." I gasped.

"What??" I exclaimed. "He can't do that!"

"I'm working on stopping him, and he's listened a little. He did delete your account on the computer, though," she said. I gasped.

"No! All my files were on there!" I stammered.

"Don't worry, I backed up everything. It's all on a CD that I'm keeping in my office. It's safe there," she said quickly.

"Good," I said, sighing with relief. "Thank you. What else has he been doing?"

"Not remembering much, really," she replied.

"Have you tried showing him photo albums?" I asked.

"Yes, but it isn't working at all. I'm worried that his memory's been permanently lost," she said quietly. I frowned.

"Dammit," I muttered to myself. "Other than that, how's Angel doing?"

"Well, I can't speak cat, but she clearly misses you. She curls up in your bed all day long," Mai said. "She hates Jon, though."

"Oh well. Scratch her behind her ears for me," I said.

"I will. Well, hope to see you soon, and I'll talk to you later," Mai said.

"Yup. Bye," I replied. We hung up, and I looked to Bakura.

"How's it going at home?" he asked. I frowned. "Not good?"

"I don't know if he ever wants to see me again," I muttered. He frowned back, and opened his arms. I accepted the hug, and pressed my face against his chest. He stroked my hair gently, and I sobbed.

TBC

Mew: Well, well. A sad sort of break-off point, right?

Draiku: -frowns- Yeah, I guess.

Mew: I _could_ work at the speed of light and upload the next chapter in the next minute to let you guys know what happens…but I won't.

Draiku: -kills Mew-

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please remember to R&R, and we'll see you again soon!


	35. Blood

Mew: I'm sick of Jonathan's amnesia. –dies-

Draiku: Same. –also does-

Mew: Nothing else to say here. Read the chapter already! –grins-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku owns NOTHING BECAUSE SHE FAILS.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 35: Blood

School hadn't been easy on me ever since I was kicked out of my dad's house. Bakura helped me out a lot—with homework, support, and comfort. All my friends did, too. Seto was even helping me study in my business class, which I appreciated. Seth did "come out" occasionally, but he didn't try anything. He just helped me with my math homework. Besides, I didn't have to really worry about him. He and Jou had hooked up somewhere along the line.

Bakura and I had quite a bit of "fun" almost every day. Sometimes, we'd even have sex, but mostly we just made out. He was a great kisser, I might add. I was still sad, of course, but whatever Bakura and I did together cheered me up. Even when he just held me while I slept, he made me feel like the happiest person alive.

Mai kept me updated on dad's progress, and called me every day. He was apparently improving—he just wasn't quite ready to accept me, his gay son. I was worried, considering that the school year was almost over, and it was taking him much longer to come to terms with me than last time. That, and I wanted him to see me graduate and go on to college. The fact that I'd earned a couple of scholarships was comforting—that, and I'd been accepted into my top three universities.

"So where are you going, Bakura?" I asked one day after school. He frowned a bit.

"Most likely? The community college in town," he replied. "I got accepted, surprisingly enough, and mom's helping me pay for my tuition and classes."

"Well, it's better than nothing," I said with a shrug.

"You're going to a big university in California, right?" he asked. I shrugged again.

"Most likely," I replied.

"Good job," he said with a smile. "I'm happy for you, believe me." I hugged him gently.

"We'll keep in touch," I said. "I'll call you whenever I can, or email you, or something." He nodded and hugged me back.

"Yeah, that sounds good," he replied. "As long as you don't cheat on me."

"I wouldn't do that!" I quickly said.

"I know," he said, grinning up at me. "I trust you, you know."

"And I trust you, too," I said with a laugh.

"So what are you going to major in?" Bakura asked.

"English," I replied. "I've always wanted to be an author. You?"

"Well, I wanted to be an architect, and I think that the college out here has some stuff on that. I'll probably end up going into floral arrangement," he said with a snicker. "So do you write?"

"Yeah, a lot," I said with a slightly nervous laugh.

"Can I read some of your stuff?" he asked.

"It isn't that good."

"So? I'd still like to read it," he said.

"Er, alright," I said. I got out my backpack and pulled out a notebook. Since I couldn't work on my stories on my computer right now, I compensated by writing them by hand. The nearly constant writer's cramp had now become a pleasantly familiar feeling. Bakura read through my main story in there, smiling as he did.

"You're really good, Ryou," he said after he'd finished what I'd written. "Have you considered publishing this?" I paused.

"Well, not really. It isn't that good," I said. I appreciated that he thought I was good at writing, but I'd never had any professional experience. Maybe I was being too modest?

"Yes it is! Really, you're great at describing things—the setting, the emotions of the characters, the overall feeling of the story," he said. "You should try getting it published in a magazine or even as an actual book."

"You think so?" I asked. He nodded.

"It's worth a shot, and companies all over will gladly give you scholarships," he said. "That, and you'll get royalties if you get it made into a book." I considered it. I _was_ almost finished with my story, and it would seriously benefit me in college. It really was worth a shot, even if it was just published as a short story in a magazine somewhere.

"Alright, I'll try when I finish it," I said.

"Good job!" Bakura said. "I'll be rooting for you." I grinned at him.

"Thanks," I said. "And if you do get into floral arrangement, I'll root for you, too." We both chuckled.

-

The next day, I had my Creative Writing teacher read over what I'd written in my story. I wanted some well-rounded critique, and he could give me precisely that.

"You're excellent at describing things, but sometimes you overdo it," he said. "Right here, for instance—when the main character is eating breakfast. You don't really need to explain how the food was cooked." I nodded.

"So, cut those parts out?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes, and anywhere else where the description of something rather minor is overly-described. Especially when it doesn't contribute to the story. The characters are nice and consistent—did you plan them out ahead of time?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I do that for all my characters," I replied. "I'm glad you thought that—I'm trying to be as consistent with them as possible."

"Well, you're doing an excellent job in that area. Your grammar in some parts is a little off, particularly in dialog and other quotes. However, that can be fixed easily, and you don't have to worry that much about it. Right here, for instance—since you continued with a new paragraph of dialog, you don't close it with a quotation on the previous paragraph of speaking. You keep each paragraph open like this until you've finished the quote."

"I was wondering about that," I said. "I've seen it used before, but never really knew what it meant." He nodded.

"Yes, since otherwise it looks like a different character is speaking," he said. He continued telling me what I could do to improve, making little comments on sticky notes and putting them into the story.

"Do you think I could publish it?" I asked. He paused, and nodded.

"Yes; it's a little long for a short story in a magazine, but I think that you could have a pretty decent children's chapter book," he said. "Considering that the plot is easy to understand, and it's not like it has anything adult in it. Some areas are a little dark, like the funeral, but it's nothing kids won't understand."

"G-great!" I stuttered. I'd wanted to write kids' books, truthfully, with maybe a few novels for older teens.

"It won't be a bestseller, but it would really benefit you in college. There's a good publishing company I know of, that specifically aims to publish books by kids your age," my teacher said. "Check them out. I'd say that they're trustworthy, and your books will be on sale in a rather short amount of time." He wrote the publisher's name onto a sticky note for me, and stuck it in the front of my notebook.

"Alright. Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate your input," I said.

"Glad to be of help," he replied with a smile, and I left the room. I heard a scream from down the hallway, and recognized it as Malik's. Blinking, I hurried over to see what was going on. He and Marik were sitting at our usual lunch table, and Malik was grinning widely.

"Oh god—I just realized. Our CD is going on sale tomorrow!" he said, voice quivering from excitement.

"Oh yeah, it is!" Marik said, grinning. "Congrats! We should all get a copy."

"Oh my god, oh my god. I'm so excited," Malik whispered. I sat down across from him. "Did you hear that?? Our CD is going on sale!"

"I heard! Congratulations!" I said, grinning. "I'll be sure to listen to it. I hope you make it big someday soon!"

"I know! We've been advertised a bit on the internet, with a few samples of our songs up there. Our manager says that we have a pretty good amount of fans. It's available on the internet, too, so anyone can buy it," Malik explained. "I don't think that iTunes will have it for a while, though. Oh well. It _is_ a small recording company."

"Well, it'll still be great to see it when it comes out tomorrow," Bakura put in.

"I agree!" Malik said. "I just can't wait to actually hold it in my hands and stuff."

"It'll be pretty exciting," I commented, stating the obvious. Malik nodded and grinned.

"I think that our producer is sending us a copy of the CD before anyone else, actually, so you guys could be the first people to listen to it after school today," he said.

"I'll come, of course," Marik said.

"Should we go?" Bakura asked me. I nodded.

"Yes, definitely!" I replied.

So, after school that day, we drove to Malik's place. When we arrived there, Malik, Marik, Shizuka, Mana, and everyone else in Malik's band were already waiting in the living room for us. Malik was holding a brown package in both hands, grinning.

"Finally!" he said when we walked inside. "I'm seriously really anxious to open this. You guys had better be sorry for making me wait!"

"Uh, yeah, we're sorry," Bakura said with a chuckle. "Well, open it!" Malik tore open the package and lifted the CD out of the foam "peanuts" inside. A grin spread across his face.

"Oh, my god," he whispered. We all huddled around him to look. The case itself had beautiful artwork—a little dark, but beautiful. It was dark, smoky grey, except for a red tree in the center. The branches were horribly gnarled, and they looked a bit like arms. Hanging from one of the branches was a white-colored bat, its wings spreading. I looked closer and saw that the bat had horns adorning the top of its head. In the lower right corner of the case was the band's name—Bats—in spiked lettering.

"That's…awesome. Who did the cover art?" I asked. Malik grinned.

"Rishid contacted someone from a website he visits, and he had this commissioned," he replied. "It looks amazing." We stared at it for a moment longer, until Marik poked Malik's shoulder.

"Open it," he said. Malik seemed to snap out of the trance he was in, and carefully removed the plastic covering of the case. He opened it gently, like it was a delicate artifact from thousands of years before, and revealed the CD. The artwork on the CD was just a close-up of the bat from the cover, but it was nice, considering that you could now see even more details. Underneath it was the list of songs.

"It's…it's perfect," Malik breathed. His band members nodded, and they removed the CD from the case. Malik popped it into the CD player, and pressed play. We listened to the entire album, relishing in the sounds. The Bats were actually really good, probably as good as some mainstream bands out there.

"This is great," Bakura said. "So it's going on sale tomorrow?" Malik nodded.

"Yup, at every store that sells music. Even Walmart, but I wouldn't buy it from there. That place censors everything," he said.

"I haven't heard a bad word, though," I commented. Malik suddenly pointed at the CD player, and the next word in the song was "fuck". He turned around and grinned at me. "I stand corrected," I remarked. The album finally finished, and Bakura and I returned to his place.

"They're really good, aren't they?" I asked. He nodded.

"Oh yeah," he said with a grin. "I'm going to get one of their CDs tomorrow."

"Same, here," I said.

"I could just buy one and copy it for you," he suggested.

"No, that's illegal. Besides, they're our friends, and I'd feel _way_ too guilty doing that," I said.

"Point taken," Bakura said.

"Now, if I didn't know them, yeah, I'd let you burn a copy for me," I said with a laugh. He chuckled as well, and pulled into his driveway. I blinked, noticing my dad's car there. I looked to Bakura, who shrugged, and we went inside. There, Mai was sitting with Bakura's mother, chatting. She was holding a plastic sack in her hands, and it looked like there was a box inside the sack.

"Ah, there you are, Ryou," she said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I think that I know how to get Jon's memory back. It's more of a 'I really hope this works' than something I know for sure," she replied. She offered the sack to me. I looked closer, and saw that there was a large blood stain on it. "This is the gift Jonathan was bringing home for you when he got into the accident," she said. My stomach lurched as I realized that my dad's blood was on that sack. I stepped away from it, not even wanting to look at it.

"Is this really the only way?" I asked, holding my belly. She nodded.

"It's worth a shot, right?" she asked. I sighed, swallowed, and nodded.

"What do I have to do?" I said.

"Just give him the sack with everything in it."

"Why don't you?"

"The gift was for you in the first place. I think it would work better if you did it." I frowned a little. The idea that my father's blood was on the bag was still making me ill. Finally, I took the sack from her hands.

"So you're going to go try this out?" Bakura asked me. I nodded again.

"I have to," I replied softly. "I want my dad back." He took my shoulders gently.

"Good luck," he said, and kissed my forehead tenderly. I thanked him in a murmur and Mai and I drove to my home. I could only hope for the best to happen.

When we arrived and I walked inside, I saw Jonathan sitting in the easy chair reading the paper. He looked up, set the paper aside, and glared at me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a venomous tone. My heart beat faster and I faltered. He still hated me, apparently.

"Just returning something," I replied, holding out the bag. He narrowed his eyes, stood, and took it from me. The way he took it was insulting in itself—he made it look like he had snatched something up from something dirty and unclean.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. I hadn't even looked in the bag on the way here. He frowned and reached inside, pulling out the box. He stared a moment.

"An iPod?" he said, raising an eyebrow at me. I shrugged. I was glad that I would have gotten one, but there were more important issues at hand. Dad stared at it for a moment, turning it around in his hands. He blinked, noticing a drop of blood on the box.

"Everything okay?" I asked when he didn't speak for a long moment.

"Oh, God," he murmured softly. "I bought this for you." My eyes widened, and my heart swelled. He was remembering! "I bought it because you were walking, after you'd lost the use of your legs. I was proud of you because you went through so much hard, painful physical therapy, and I thought that you'd need this for going between classes in college."

"So you're finally remembering!" I said, grinning stupidly. He nodded.

"You were in a coma! And when you woke up, you couldn't walk! But you were in the coma because you fell off the stairs of the school. I visited you every single day, and so did your friends. I…I prayed for you each night," he said, his voice softening. "I wanted you home." He looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry, Ryou." I smiled and we hugged each other gently.

"It's alright," I said.

"I kicked you out again, though," Dad said. "I'm so sorry."

"You couldn't help it. You were in an accident," I insisted. He sighed, holding me close.

"Where did you stay?" he asked.

"At Bakura's house," I replied.

"And how long has it been?"

"About a month and a half." He frowned.

"That's too long," he muttered.

"Don't worry about it!" I insisted. He pulled away from me.

"Anyway, I suppose I should give you this, now," he said, smiling and holding the iPod box out to me. "Congratulations on getting through physical therapy, and I'm so proud of you." I grinned and took it.

"Thank you," I replied.

"Sorry it's late."

"Doesn't matter." I hugged him again. "So you remember everything?" He nodded.

"Yes. Everything," he replied. I smiled.

"That's a much better gift than an iPod," I commented. He chuckled softly.

"I'm glad you're back. The house felt so empty without you here," he said. "It'll be like that when you're in college, too…"

"You could invite the neighbor kids over," I suggested. He smiled.

"It wouldn't be the same."

"Well, that's still a couple of months from now. We can think about it later." He nodded.

"Yes, that sounds good," he said. I smiled, feeling as satisfied as I could possibly feel. It was good—great—to be home again.

TBC

Mew: Whoot! Sorry if that was a little rushed, but I was SO INCREDIBLY SICK of Jonathan being all bitchy that I had to do it. Anyway, the next arc was going to be introduced in the next chapter, but I lost my inspiration for it. Instead, you'll have a little surprise to pass the time, you know? –wink-

Draiku: ZOMG PORRRRRN. FUNFUNFUN.

Mew: Could be! You'll just have to wait and see. –grins-

Yoko: Ooh, what could it be? Ask Mew in a review. –wink- She won't tell you, though. AHAHA.


	36. Marik's Discover Pt 1

Mew: Sorry, no porn for you guys. I don't want this removed. That would suck donkey balls. Instead, you get a little side story of Marik "discovering" himself. It won't take long, I promise. It'll also be told in third person, because 1) Ryou can't exactly describe Marik's feelings during this, 2) it works well for describing things in your own words, and 3) I felt like it.

Draiku: BORRRRRING. I want my man-on-man buttsex.

Mew: -sighs- Then look it up on Google. Anyway, readers, enjoy. Marik's a freshie in this, so beware. –ominous music-

Draiku: -runs off-

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku, sadly, does not own Yu-Gi-Oh. She'd be rich by now if she did. For serious.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 36: Marik's Discover Pt. 1

General POV/Third Person Omniscient

Marik was your average high school freshman, new from one of the several middle schools in town. He wore jeans, T-shirts with some sort of print on it, and ratty sneakers. He carried a backpack, ate the school lunch, and hung out with his friends. Today, he was eating lunch across from a group of girls.

"Damn," one of his friends murmured, glancing over at the girls. "Look at Celia's ass. I'd tap that." Marik took a peek, then looked back to his tray. What was the big deal about a girl's butt? It was just like any other person's butt—well, any other guy butt, at least. Maybe a little rounder and less flat, but it was still a butt. And of course their butts were wider—they had to be, in order to properly carry babies. It was basic anatomy that you learned in seventh grade health class.

"Ew, Celia? Dude, you can do better. Amanda has the best ass out there—I would know," Fred bragged. Everyone knew that he and Amanda had had sex in eighth grade. It was old news, but Fred still made a big deal out of it, even though he wasn't dating her anymore.

"How was she, then?" Jamal asked. Fred motioned for Jamal to stick out a finger. He gripped it tightly.

"Like that," he said. "Totally virgin. It was awesome." Everyone around Marik laughed.

"Did you fuck her again?" Kevin said curiously. Fred grinned.

"Kev, you know me. I'm like a fucking jackrabbit who's been using aphrodisiac. I do it once, I do it again, and again, and again," he said. "She was a total slut anyway—no matter what was going on, if I asked for some pussy, I got it."

"So she's like this now?" Kevin said, and used both of his hands to circle Fred's finger. Everyone cracked up, and Marik chuckled a little.

"Most likely!" Fred said loudly. "She could probably fit both her fists in there!" Everyone in the lunchroom glanced at them, some disgusted, most just a bit annoyed. Marik sighed, feeling embarrassed. Whenever they talked about sex he always felt uncomfortable.

"What about you, Marik?" Jamal asked, looking to him. Marik blinked. "Who do you wanna bang?"

"Um…" he glanced around the lunchroom and picked out the girl with the biggest boobs. "Bella, probably," he said. She had a size DD bra, apparently, but she was quite skinny. Not anorexic, just at a good weight. She wasn't that bad-looking, either.

"Aw, Marik! I always knew you'd go for big tits," Fred said. "Of course, I would, too. Would you tit-fuck her?" Marik plastered a false grin on his face.

"Hell yes!" he said. "Then I'd…I'd have her suck my cock, and then do her doggy-style." Jamal high-fived him.

"You should totally ask her out."

"I should, shouldn't I?" Marik wondered aloud. He watched her walking out of the lunchroom, and got up. His friends cheered him on as he followed her.

"Hi, Bella," he said, catching up to her. "What's up?" She smiled, blushing a tiny bit.

"Nothing much. I'm just putting this textbook away," she replied.

"Here, let me get that," he said, and she handed it to him with a thanks. The truth was, Marik just wanted to see what it was like to kiss a girl, or hold one in his arms. He'd never done either thing with anyone before, and it would be nice to see how dating was.

"So how are you doing?" Bella asked.

"Pretty good, pretty good," he said, nodding. He paused a moment. "Um, this is going to sound really weird, and it's my first time asking anyone, but will you go out with me?" She looked to him, shocked. He blushed, scratching the back of his head nervously. _Why am I doing this again?_ he thought to himself. He felt so awkward and out-of-place.

"You…like me?" she asked. He nodded, and she blushed. "Um, um, yes! I will!" Marik looked up and grinned.

"Really??" he said, surprised that she'd agreed. She nodded briskly. "G-great!" Gently, Bella moved closer to Marik and hugged him tenderly. He hugged her back with a smile, but winced a bit. Her breasts were pressing against his chest. It felt uncomfortable to Marik, like there was an obtrusion preventing him from holding her. That, and the thought of them rubbing up against him was just a turn off.

_Why can't they be smaller?_ he thought desperately. He mentally sighed, forcing the thought away. He'd just have to get used to it.

After a few days of dating, a new kid from some other school arrived. He looked similar to Marik—he had the same tanned skin and light blond hair. His eyes, though, were truly amazing—they were a light violet color. Marik was actually quite envious of them, since his eyes were a dull blue color. He wanted those violet eyes for himself.

The new kid hung out mostly with Ryou, some girly boy with long white hair and pale skin. Well, he didn't really act girly—he just looked girly. When Marik first saw him, he was unsure of his gender. Then he saw his shorts fall during PE class, and it was decided that Ryou was definitely male.

Marik dated Bella for a few months, then they decided that they were ready to have sex. In all honesty, though, Marik was taking the advice of his friends ("Yeah, man! Go for it! I heard that she's virgin, so she'll be nice and tight for ya!"). The actual thought of having sex with her was quite…disturbing, really.

So they tried it out one night, at her place. Her parents weren't home, and they would be gone for hours. They had until midnight to get in bed, have sex, get out of bed, take a shower, and clear the evidence. It was six—there would be plenty of time.

There was just one problem.

"Oh, yes," Bella murmured softly as Marik kissed her jaw and removed her bra. He threw the undergarments aside, and gently took her breasts in his hands. She groaned quietly, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck.

Marik frowned a little. He didn't feel turned on at _all_. Not even tingly. Even though he was squeezing her breasts and pinching her nipples, he wasn't getting hard. He brushed it off, dismissing it as normal. It _was_ his first time, after all.

Now that he thought about it, he'd never really gotten hard whenever he accidentally came across a porn site on the internet. Whenever he was hanging out with his friends after school, and watching a porn movie, he'd never gotten an erection. Not once. He did have wet dreams and all, but he could never remember what they were about.

"Marik," Bella said. "Why are you stopping?"

"Oh, sorry," he quickly replied.

"Just keep going. That feels so good," she whispered. He nodded and stroked her chest all over, and finally moved his hands lower, into her pants. His stomach did several flips, one pirouette, and the splits. He cringed a bit as he stroked her "down there."

"Um," he muttered, trying his hardest to mask the disgust in his tone, "maybe we shouldn't be doing this." She frowned.

"But Marik, we've been dating for months! Of course we should," she said. "Those two juniors, Samantha and Demitri, did it after _one_ month. We've been dating for _three_."

"I know, but…"

"Marik, please," she whispered. He nodded, giving in, and removed her jeans, then her panties.

Still, he wasn't hard.

"Marik," she said, "take off your clothes, too." He nodded, pulling off his shirt, then his pants and boxers. She frowned. "Shouldn't you be hard by now?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "This is my first time."

"Oh well, you probably need more physical stuff. Keep going," she said with an understanding smile. Marik nodded again, and began touching her again. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, moaning. He took a peek down at his penis. It wasn't doing a thing! Not even swelling! After a few minutes, Bella noticed as well.

"Okay, wait a minute," she said. "Doesn't this turn you on? You definitely should be all hard by now!"

"I'm sorry!" he quickly said. "Maybe I'm just not ready!"

"Marik, you're like what, fifteen years old? You're a guy—you _should_ be ready by now!" She was clearly angry, and worried. "Dammit."

"I'm really sorry," he said softly, getting off of her and sitting on the corner of the bed. "It just…isn't working." She paused a moment, and shrugged.

"What if I did this?" she asked, taking his dick in her hands and stroking it.

"Yeah…I think that'd work," he replied. She smirked a little, touching his member all over, paying special attention to its head. And it certainly worked, but something was wrong. Marik had his eyes closed, but he wasn't picturing Bella working with his genitals. He was picturing tanned skin, blond hair, violet eyes…

"Wait, wait! Stop!" he cried, pushing away.

"What's wrong??" she quickly asked. He was shaking, his entire body quivering.

"Um…you squeezed too hard," he said, making up a lie.

"Oh—I thought I was being gentle. Sorry," she said. "Want me to try again?" He nodded once, and she got right to work. This time, Marik forced himself to picture Bella in his mind.

That was a mistake.

His stomach lurched, and he quickly got up and ran to the bathroom. There, he vomited in the toilet. Bella came in, wearing a robe.

"What was it this time?" she asked while he rinsed his mouth out in the sink.

"I guess it felt really good," he replied. She stared.

"So every time we do this, you're going to vomit?"

"No, no—it's like sugar. When you first start eating it, you'll throw up after just a bit. Then as you keep eating it, then you'll get used to its effect on your body," he said, hoping that would make sense. She nodded.

"So we should start slow," she said.

"Exactly." He smiled, glad she got the message.

"Alright, we can do that," she said, nodding again, "but I don't want to." His smile faded.

"But…!"

"If we go slow, you'll get all the pleasure! It wouldn't be fair!" she said. "Look, if we don't go all the way tonight, then you should just leave." He sighed.

"Well, alright," he said. "I'll go." She gasped, like she wasn't expecting him to actually agree.

"Fine," she said. "You leave." He nodded, took a fast shower, got dressed, and left.

-

At school the next day, Bella broke up with Marik. "It wasn't working out," she'd said. "We should see other people. But we can still be friends."

Marik was sad, but not exactly crushed. During the three months they'd dated, he'd grown close to her—just not physically. He considered her to be one of his best friends, but not his girlfriend, really. It wasn't a huge loss—they could still be friends, right? She'd even said so. Unless one of her friends told her it would be best to say that, and not ever talk to him again.

"So you tried to fuck, but you had a bad case of limp dick?" Jamal asked during class. Marik nodded with an embarrassed frown.

"Yeah. Then when she gave me a hand job, I threw up," he replied. He didn't want to mention that he had imagined the new boy giving him the hand job instead.

"You probably were moving too quickly," Jamal said. "It just ain't something you were used to yet. Try watching some porno tonight. The kind where the two people are actually in love. It's harder to find, but here's a website." Marik nodded and wrote the address down. After a moment, Jamal spoke up again. "Maybe you're gay." Marik winced.

"No way!" he objected. "I'm totally not gay. I'd never even consider having sex with a guy! It's…it's gross!" Jamal shrugged.

"Just a thought. It'd make sense, though. You wouldn't get hard, then you threw up," he said. "If I was gonna have sex with some dude, I'd probably do the same thing." Marik frowned.

"I can't be," he said. "I've never thought about doing a guy." But at the same time, he'd never really thought about having sex with a girl either.

"Maybe it's subconscious," Jamal suggested.

"I'm _not_ gay at all! Not even part of me is gay! It's impossible, and I don't want to talk about it any more!" Marik said, glaring, and turned away. Jamal shrugged and got back to work.

Marik frowned as he opened his textbook. _I'm not lying to myself. I'm not gay. I'm not,_ he thought, and mentally nodded to himself. _It's impossible. I wouldn't ever do a guy, ever. Not once in my life. I wouldn't even consider it._

He got to work, trying his hardest to forget his conversation with Jamal.

-

That night, Marik decided to try looking at some gay porn. It would help him decide if he was gay once and for all.

Sadly, he couldn't decide if he was gay once and for all, because all the websites were blocked. He'd have to use his imagination.

"Alright, who do I think is…erm…good-looking?" he murmured to himself while he sat in bed. Well, he'd imagined that new kid, so he may as well give that a shot. But the problem was, he didn't know the new kid's name. So Marik gave him a name. "Bob" was fitting enough. Yup, Bob would do just fine.

"Okay, Bob. Let's go," Marik said, though the words sounded odd to him. He mentally got in bed with Bob, undressed Bob, had Bob suck on his dick a little, sucked on Bob's dick, and finally fucked Bob in the ass.

Surprisingly, he got hard.

"Oh, god," he whispered, touching himself while he imagined topping Bob. "Yes. Yes. Oh god." He imagined that Bob would be very tight, and very warm. In his mind, Bob came, then in real life, Marik came.

"Oh, Bob!" he cried while he ejaculated. He panted, the sticky fluid dripping on his hand, and slowly opened his eyes. "I'm not gay," he murmured, though he knew that he was totally lying to himself.

That night, he couldn't sleep at all. He was scared that he just might possibly be gay. What would his parents say? More importantly, how would the kids at school treat him?

He didn't have to come out now, though. He could wait. Plus, he wasn't sure that he was gay. There was always the possibility that he wasn't. Tonight, he decided, was just a fluke.

He most definitely wasn't gay. Right?

TBC

Mew: I like this mini-story so much that I'm going to continue it for a few more chapters (hence the title of this chapter). Don't worry, it'll be less than five. I promise. Then we can get back on track with Badass Boyfriend.

Draiku: And to : It's a flashback. Yes. A very long flashback that's highly integral to the plot.

Mew: Yes. That is what it is.

Yoko: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please remember to R&R, we really appreciate it!


	37. Marik's Discovery Pt 2

Mew: Part two! I've decided on having three parts to this, so the next chapter will be the conclusion. But before that, I hope you enjoy this one.

Draiku: And remember—Marik isn't gay yet.

Mew: This chapter will also introduce Marik's first boyfriend. –wink- Like I said before, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Mew Draiku doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. So don't try stealing it from her. You won't succeed.

Badass Boyfriend

Chapter 37: Marik's Discovery Pt. 2

Over the next few days, Marik felt more and more concerned about his sexuality. He came across a couple of websites that had gay porn on them, and weren't blocked. Most of it was aimed at people with weird fetishes, so Marik didn't enjoy it. The normal stuff, though, that was pretty good.

Of course, he still felt that he wasn't gay. Bisexual, yes—that's what he was.

But when he looked at straight porn, he didn't get hard. He didn't even get remotely turned on. He just felt ill.

So, he stuck to gay porn, and kept it secret. Sometimes he liked to pretend to be one of the guys in the porn—usually the one on top—and the other guy was Bob. Well, the new kid. Marik would have to learn his name someday.

There were nights when he was so scared of being gay that he couldn't sleep. He would clutch the blankets and sob quietly to himself, not wanting his parents to ever know. They'd surely be disappointed. What if they kicked him out? What if they disowned him? Then what would he do?

The thought terrified him.

Those nights he would turn the music on his iPod full blast, and try his hardest to clear his mind. However, sometimes the lyrics would bring the memories back. And he'd cry some more.

Finally, he turned to his best friend, Jamal. He needed to get this off his back.

"Jamal?" he said during class one day. Jamal looked up curiously. "I…I think you were right." He could only hope that Jamal wouldn't hate him or something.

"What do you mean?" Jamal asked.

"Remember when we were talking about how, you know, I almost had sex with Bella?" Jamal nodded. "You said that I might be gay. I think…I think that you were right." Jamal blinked, but didn't seem that surprised. "You don't hate me, right?"

"No way, man," Jamal replied. "If you like dudes, I'm cool with that. Just don't…y'know, flirt with me or anything."

"Don't worry," Marik quickly said. "I won't. And I'm not sure if I really am or not. I mean, I looked at some…g-gay porn the other day." He had to force the words out. It was hard to admit that he'd actually looked at such a weird thing. "It…it got me all hard. Like that." He snapped his fingers. "But the straight stuff didn't do a thing."

"Yeah, I think you're gay," Jamal said, sitting back in his seat. "Try asking a guy out."

"Yeah, but who?" Marik asked. Jamal made a motion towards a kid with a black ponytail.

"How about Otogi over there?" he suggested. "He's totally gay. He's even told everyone before. And you know those rainbow shirts he wears? He's definitely gay."

"But does he have a boyfriend?" Marik asked. He didn't admit that he thought Otogi was quite handsome. The other teen had shiny, black hair, which went sort of all over the place. He had it in a ponytail, then some of his bangs spiked up slightly and fell into his face. His skin was rather pale, and his eyes were a rare green color. Like jade, almost, but more vibrant.

"I don't think so. You're the only other gay freshman," Jamal said.

"I said that I wasn't sure!" Marik whined. Jamal shrugged. "Anyway, how do I ask him out? It's not like I can just go up to him and ask."

"I'll do it for you," Jamal offered. Marik stared at him.

"You really would?" he said. Jamal nodded. "Okay. Okay, let's do that."

After class, Jamal asked Otogi out for Marik. Otogi ended up accepting, saying that he'd always thought Marik was kind of cute. Marik blushed, embarrassed.

And so, the two began dating. Marik was quite shy the entire time, still slightly in denial about being gay. Otogi, on the other hand, made all the advances and seemed to be the more masculine one at times. Marik was a bit uncomfortable with this sometimes, but he learned to get used to it. Otogi was a good guy, though. He and Marik shared similar interests, and got along well.

Finally, Marik discovered that he was definitely, without a doubt, gay. It took some getting used to, but eventually, he felt the need to kiss Otogi. So one day, he did. And it wasn't just any old tender kiss, it was full-frontal making out.

Marik grabbed Otogi's shoulders and tugged him closer, holding him close to his chest. He pressed his lips against the shorter teen's, using his tongue to request entrance. Otogi gladly opened his mouth, and Marik shoved his tongue in. They kissed for a long time, and finally, they pulled apart.

"Damn," Otogi murmured softly, licking his lips. "I didn't think you had it in you." Marik couldn't help himself; he grinned.

"Well?" he said, expecting some sort of remark on how well or how badly he kissed. Otogi blinked, confused for a second. "How'd I do?" Otogi chuckled and hugged Marik closer, twirling some of his hair lovingly.

"Let's just say that it was yummy," he replied with a smirk. Marik wrapped his arms around Otogi, resting his hands near just above his ass. He liked holding Otogi—there was nothing keeping the two of them apart. Their hearts seemed to be right next to each other, beating as one. It felt so nice, so perfect that Marik regretted not experiencing it earlier.

"Let's go inside, to your room," Otogi murmured against Marik's chest. Marik blushed.

"You mean…?" he replied, and Otogi nodded. Marik was worried, to say the least. What if he couldn't get hard like the last time he tried to have sex? What if he was horribly awkward and clumsy? And most importantly, what about those STDs they always talked about in Health class?

"What is it?" Otogi asked. "Don't you want to?" Marik couldn't deny that he wanted to try it sometime, but this quickly? The thought scared him.

"Well, yeah," he said in a mutter. "But--"

"Don't worry, I have condoms," Otogi said with a grin. Marik frowned inwardly, but eventually succumbed. They went inside, crawled into bed, and stripped.

It was certainly different, Marik thought. But it was extremely enjoyable—orgasmic, really. The items proving that were two used condoms, both thrown away and hidden. Marik held Otogi close, smiling. Then he realized that his parents would be home soon. For a second, he considered staying here, and letting them find out the hard way. Otogi felt so good in his arms, so good that Marik never wanted to let go. He relished in the warmth of another man lying next to him, breathing quietly. The sensation of Otogi's chest rising and falling against his own was sweet and tender, soothing Marik to his bones.

Finally, he gently, and regretfully, awoke Otogi. The other male stirred, opening his eyes slowly.

"Your parents?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"They'll be here soon," Marik said with a nod. "I…don't want them to find out. Not yet." Otogi nodded and sat up.

"I understand. It's also best to tell them yourself, rather than have them catch you in the act," he said with a wink. Marik chuckled, and he and Otogi both took turns showering. After a while, Otogi finished, and got dressed. Marik waved goodbye as Otogi drove away into the darkness. He went inside, and a few minutes later, his parents arrived. Marik had hidden his dirty sheets underneath a huge blanket, so he was confident they wouldn't find out tonight.

"So, what were you up to all evening?" his mother asked. Marik inwardly smiled.

"Homework and the like," he replied. "I have a project coming up on Friday." His mother nodded.

"And how's that coming along?"

"Quite well. I'm nearly done," he said. "Anyway, I have a test tomorrow, so I'm going to bed." His parents nodded, and he went to his room. There, he grinned and remembered the wonderful emotions he'd experienced tonight, with his boyfriend.

-

A month passed, and Otogi moved, all the way to a different country. Apparently, his dad was being transferred. They'd be living in India for a very, very long time. Marik was basically crushed. The day before Otogi moved, Marik stayed with him.

"We should probably break up," Otogi murmured. Marik blinked, looking up, shocked.

"What?" he asked. Otogi sighed.

"Well, think about it. I'm moving to _India_, for god's sake. I'm not going to see you for years. We won't have any real, face-to-face contact. It won't work out, and we'll end up cheating on each other," he explained. Marik winced.

"I wouldn't," he replied, though he knew he was lying.

"Marik, please listen," Otogi said. "If you really didn't cheat on me, you'd be unhappy. And I want you to be happy." He gently hugged Marik. "I'll always love you. But…when I move, we won't see each other at all." Marik closed his eyes tightly. He put a hand on Otogi's arm, squeezing lightly.

"I don't want you to move," he whispered. "I love you." Otogi nuzzled his forehead.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I can't stop it." Marik gave a short sob and tears flowed down his face. Otogi tenderly comforted him. Eventually, Marik came to terms. He didn't want it to be true, but it was. When Otogi moved, things would change between them.

"I'm sorry, Marik," Otogi said.

"I know why we're breaking up. You don't have to apologize," Marik replied, gently touching Otogi's face. Otogi frowned, gently taking Marik's hand and moving it off.

"We'll keep in contact, right?" he said. Marik nodded.

"Of course."

"Promise you'll e-mail me every week," Otogi said. Marik nodded again.

"I promise," he said. And the next day, he waved good-bye as Otogi's car took him away from Marik.

Over the next few days, Marik mostly sulked around the house, not talking much or doing much except sitting in his room. He enjoyed reminiscing in there, but hated the fact that he wouldn't see Otogi for a very, very long time.

"What's wrong?" his parents asked him one day during dinner. Marik shrugged.

"I dunno," he replied. His mother frowned.

"Of course you do. You can tell us, Marik. We're your parents," she said.

"It's not important," Marik said in a pouty little tone.

"It's important to us!" his father said. "Please, Marik. You can trust us." Marik frowned.

"And what if you get mad?" he said. Truthfully, though he knew his parents were tolerant of gays and lesbians for the most part, he feared the slight chance that they wouldn't accept him as their son.

"Why would we be mad at you?" his mother said. "No matter what it is, we won't be angry." Marik looked at his hands, which were folded in his lap.

"Otogi moved away," he muttered. "He was my boyfriend, but since long-distance relationships don't work out, we broke up." He didn't want to look at them for the longest time. Finally, he took a peek at them. His father's eyes were wide, and his mother simply stared.

"You're—ahem—gay?" his father asked, clearing his throat between the two words. Marik nodded.

"Yeah," he replied softly. His father stared at him with those same surprised eyes.

"I…I don't know how to deal with this," the older man murmured. He quickly got up from the table and left through the front door. A pit formed in Marik's gut. It felt like it was pushing aside his organs, making him feel ill. Marik put his head in his hands, and rested his elbows on the table. His mother reached over and gently patted his shoulders.

"It's alright, Marik," she murmured. "I knew long before he did." Marik peered at her.

"How?" he asked.

"I saw the sites you were looking at while I checked the history on the computer," she explained, blushing a bit. Marik, on the other hand, blushed heavily.

"…Am I in trouble for looking at it?" he asked. His mother shook her head.

"No. I understand why you'd want to," she said. "You needed to know, right?" He nodded.

"It was so hard to finally realize that I like guys," he muttered. "I was so scared." She held him gently. "Does he hate me? Dad, I mean."

"No, of course not," she replied. "He'll be back and he won't be mad at all. Just wait for him to come home."

So Marik took her advice, and waited. A couple hours passed, and his father returned home. The man sat on the couch, staring at the television, though it wasn't on.

"Marik," he said. "Come here, please." Marik left the kitchen, leaving his homework on the table. He stood in front of his father. "Sit down," his father invited. Marik sat, noticing his father's exhausted expression.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, quietly.

"For what?" his father asked.

"For being gay," Marik said, and looked away. His father frowned.

"Don't apologize. I'm not angry at you," he said. "I'm angry at everyone else." Marik blinked.

"Why?" 

"Because no matter where you go, there will be someone who hates you," his father explained, turning to Marik. "I only want the best for you. You're my only son, and I love you." He took Marik's shoulders and hugged him. Marik hugged him back, sighing.

"It's alright," Marik said. "I can deal with it."

"You shouldn't have to. I just…well, society won't change for a long time. I almost wish that you weren't gay."

"Sorry," Marik said again.

"Don't apologize," his father repeated. "It isn't something you can control or choose. No one can choose who you love for you, including me." Marik smiled slightly and they pulled away. "So, you had a boyfriend." Marik blushed a little, and nodded.

"Yeah—you never met him, though," he said. "I really didn't want you to know, and it was pretty obvious that he was gay."

"How do the kids at school treat you?" his father asked.

"For the most part, fine," Marik replied. "Some kids are rude, most don't care, and a few who I've never talked to before are suddenly supporting or hating me." He shrugged.

"And your friends?"

"Jamal's been supporting me—he actually helped me figure it out," Marik said. "One kid stopped hanging out with me. The rest of my friends don't really mind."

"And your teachers?" 

"Same as always."

"Good. Just be sure to tell me if anyone's being really mean to you, alright?" Marik nodded. "Anyway, let's go to bed. It's really late." Marik nodded again, and they headed upstairs to bed. Marik, for the first time in a long time, slept peacefully that night.

-

During class the next day, Marik's teacher was assigning partners for a project. He sighed, not exactly paying attention. Finally, the teacher called his name.

"Marik, your partner is Malik," the teacher said. Marik glanced over the room to see who this Malik person was. He saw someone walking over to him, and he gasped.

"Hi," Malik said with a smile. "So you're Marik? Nice to meet you." It was Bob, the hot guy from Marik's fantasies.

"N-nice to meet you too, Bob," Marik said, shaking Malik's hand. The flesh was soft and warm, making Marik forget his error.

"Bob?" Malik said, confused. Marik winced a little and blushed slightly. "Why'd you call me that?"

"Oh, erm, uh, I call all the new boys 'Bob' and girls 'Jane' until I meet them," Marik replied.

"Oh," Malik said, and blinked once. "Anyway, just to clarify, I'm _Malik_, not Bob."

"Okay," Marik said with a nervous chuckle. "And I'm Marik." He inwardly smiled. This could be interesting.

TBC

Mew: MARIK AND BOB—er, Malik—HAVE FINALLY MET!

Draiku: Imagine Malik with a cute Arabic accent. –grins-

Mew: Sadly, Malik has since lost that cute Arabic accent. Oh well. Anyway, I'm planning on going on hiatus from this (Badass Boyfriend) for a while. I might, but then I might not. We'll see.

Yoko: Thanks for reading everyone! Remember, this is a very important flashback. It's integral to the plot, very! So…leave a review, please?


	38. An Important Note

Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't updated this in many, many moons. In fact, I'm surprised that this is still getting good reviews! I decided to put this message in Badass Boyfriend, because it's my most popular story.

I wanted to let everyone know that I'm not writing fanfiction anymore. Why? I guess I gained new interests, and decided that it was time to move on. Since there are still a bunch of people who enjoy this story, I'll keep it up—but I won't be updating it.

However, I will continue writing. I'll always write. Every now and then, I'll "publish" a story on my DeviantART account, which can be found at xaidurk dot deviantart dot com. My writing has improved a lot since I published this (especially in regards to characterization), as well as my drawing (heheh). If you wish to continue following my work, you can find everything there. If you wish to contact me, please do it through deviantART.

I want to thank everyone who has supported me by reading and reviewing my stories, particularly those who gave me good, honest critique. At the time I received them, I wasn't too happy about it, but looking back, I realize that the people who critiqued me only did so because they wanted me to improve. In fact, those people have made me actually strive to improve, and I thank them for killing my ego.

I also want to apologize for dying/disappearing. It was really rude and unfair of me to not let my readers know that I wouldn't be updating my stories any longer. I also want to apologize again, because that apology was long, long overdue.

Again, thank you for your support, and I'm sorry for disappearing on you guys.

Mew Draiku


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